The end of a relationship can often lead to the beginning of an entirely new experience – something that can be difficult to process.

From starting another chapter in your life without that person by your side to adjusting to how your day-to-day life changes without your partner, ending a relationship can truly be a transformative experience – and like many things, we go through different emotional stages as we process the loss of the life we built with that one special person.

From denial to heartbreak, acceptance and so much more, we often go through a range of emotions when dealing with relationship grief – and therapist Lucille Shackleton has acknowledged the different ways we can experience this and how it has an effect on our own wellbeing.

“We rarely talk about the grief that people experience when a relationship ends or changes form,” she said in an Instagram post.

Dating: why “relationship grief” could be the reason you’re struggling to get over your ex