I recently read an article in the Atlantic that I resonated with very much. It offered a very interesting take on the five stages of grief-theory that, I think, pertains to your question:

‘After losing her son, a scientist and science writer takes a closer look at grief:

The five-stage model wasn’t generated from data. It’s a theory, developed by the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and published in 1969, that explains how people come to terms with their own impending death. I remember watching Kübler-Ross on television when I was a young teenager, absolutely enthralled, and later buying some of her books. By the time her second one was published, in 1974, Kübler-Ross had expanded her claims, such that the five stages would apply to the grieving process too. Families go through them once while their loved one faces death, she argued—and then they may again when that person has died. Though I’d been a fan of Kübler-Ross’s work, mentions of this theory caused me stress when I was in extreme grief. Was my denial “stage” over yet? If not, how long did I have before I’d turn into a rage monster and scare my grandkids? Some grief websites warned that people can move backward and forward through the stages as they grieve—an idea that made me worry that the all-consuming despair could return. That possibility nipped at any sense of hope and encouragement I could muster: My anxiety would ebb, but then the internet whispered, It won’t last.’