As a nurse, I've learned that grieving has five stages. We use the acronym DABDA which stands for Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.

I've never really applied this in real life because I haven't experienced someone close to me dying. People I know have died, but (thankfully) no one very close to me.

However, I have learned to apply this in another aspect: MOVING ON.

I'm sure we've all experienced this - losing a friend, left by a lover, lost a job, failed in an exam... and the five stages of grieving may apply to all of the given situations.

Since most of us experience heartbreaks in love, I choose to apply it for that situation.

DENIAL: When someone leaves, we think it's a joke, or a phase that he or she needs to get through. Then, after a while, that person will come back and your story continues. It doesn't. That person doesn't come back. But we still hold on, trying to change and hoping that somehow we can save the relationship. Remember this: if a person wants to leave, he or she will think of all ways to get away... if a person wants to stay, he or she will hold on to whatever there is to hold on to.

ANGER: This is when the shouting usually starts. Sometimes, the anger is directed to the person who left, blaming the person for leading us on and breaking our hearts. Other times though, the anger is directed inwards. We blame ourselves for not being good enough.

BARGAINING: We ask for the person to come back... that we will give everything or do anything just so he or she will stay.

DEPRESSION: When all of those emotions are spent, we get left with one more - depression. We sit in front of the TV alone watching romance movies with a bucket of ice cream. We make ourselves busy just so we don't think about that person because everything around us seem to remind us of him or her. We listen to songs and every single one seems to bring back all the memories. This stage usually takes the longest... and some don't even make it out.

ACCEPTANCE: The last stage and the most fulfilling one. It's when we look back at everything we've been through and laugh. It's when the only way we want to go is forward and never back again. It's when we feel no regret in falling in love and getting hurt because it actually made us stronger. It's when we're ready to fall in love again... and move on.

One last tip: the five stages should be done by 6 months. If it's longer than that, you're doing something wrong. Better get some help.

Let go...
Move on...
... and keep moving foward. :)