“Abnormal” grief, however, according to psychology experts, doesn’t move through predictable stages. It stays stuck in patterns of mourning. Patterns of mourning look like the following: Protest: Arguing or demanding, and angry outbursts. Pining: Prolonged mourning, being haunted by loss. Despair: Depression, hopeless, and resignation. Disconnection: Dissociation, frozen mourning. Sometimes an addictive process, behavior, or substance steps in and the mourning process doesn’t happen at all.
