Over the past year, many of my friends have been struggling to make sense of recent events, including perceived attacks on democratic and other values globally, feeling bewildered, frustrated, and other complex and frequently contradictory emotions. Yet recognizing that we may be undergoing psychological processes of grief can help us cope and respond as effectively as possible.

In 1969, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross described five stages of grief that patients commonly undergo: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These phases may not all occur, or they can appear in a different order or direction, or more than one at a time. We can experience them in losing a spouse or beforehand, in “anticipatory grief” before the loss occurs, when we sense it looming.

This framework has assisted countless patients, therapists, and others, and can now aid many of us in finding ways to move forward in the midst of these fears. Clearly, perceived threats to democratic values differ from certain other........

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