The most commonly accepted stages of grief were created by a women named Dr. Kubler-Ross. It is interesting because there seems to be many different variations of the name of the stages, which all characterize the same emotions. She explained the following:

1. Denial and Isolation.
At first, we tend to deny the loss has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts. This could be described as a feeling of numbness. This stage may last a few moments, or longer weeks.
2. Anger.
The grieving person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she's dead), or at the world, for letting it happen. He may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it.
3. Bargaining.
Now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, "If I do this, will you take away the loss?"
4. Depression.
The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath.
5. Acceptance.
This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the loss.

What are coping skills for each stage? - Note that not all of these coping skills will be positive in nature - many of them will merely just help the person survive during their grief.

Stage 1: this stage, the coping skills might not be very rational. People walk around denying that the tragic event happened. This might not be psychologically healthy, but it helps the person progress to the next stage of grief. Other people cope by becoming almost euphoric, or hysterical, they could become overly hyper, and talk too much or too fast. Other people contemplate suicide, while others just plain feel nothing.

Stage 2:
The person might start to feel anger towards other people such as friends or a spouse. This again might not seem psychologically stable, but it actually helps the person realize that they are angry, which could them help them move on to the next stage.

Stage 3:
Some people try to make deals with G-d, or with someone that they have hurt, or even with themselves. This is definitely a coping skills, since they think if they can change their own behavior, then things could improve for themselves.

Stage 4: This stage is marked by depression. It is normal for a person to feel depressed and sad, however, if it becomes too extreme, then they will need a doctor to help them cope. They should seek the help of medical professionals to help them get through the depressive stage, which is a very positive coping skill.

Stage 5:
This is the last stage in the grieving process, where people must learn new coping skills to actually get on with their life, and the survivors slowly learn how to live with their loss. This is a large and therapeutic way to cope, since it indicates that the person is ready to move on, and try to start living life once more.

Discussion on time:
They say that time heals all wounds, and this is true. If a person can acknowledge that they lost someone, and that the pain that they feel is real, in time, the person can learn to adjust and cope and grief and slowly they might begin to feel better and smile a bit more. After even more time has passed, they could go on living again. If the person gives themselves adequate time to heal, then also this will help them move on. If they think that they are better too quickly, then they are probably stuck in their emotions, and will rebound, and head down the path of depression.

Also note that there is other theories of grief - this one composed by John Bowlby, which says that the stages are: Shock and Numbness, Yearning and Searching, Disorganization and Despair, and Reorganization