Are there different stages of grief? How can someone begin to heal after a loss?

Thank you for your question I'm honestly still figuring all of this out and I guess that's part of everyone's journey through the process of grieving. I'm grieving the life I had before all of this kicked off. I've had a really good life. Very few regrets. In hindsight I do think I focused too much time on working and not enough time on living. This affected my relationship and based on my experiences over the past couple of years, ultimately my health. I've been through many nights sat alone sobbing my heart out, just too overwhelmed to do anything else. There have been times I've been catatonic not wanting to get out of bed. My heart aches for carefree days, it also aches for my loved ones who have suffered through this, especially the loves of my life who have also had their lives turned upside down, my (ex) wife & my daughter. I have to remind myself that I'm not alone in this. Very few people are lucky to live a life without encountering grief at some point in their lives. But then, grief is one of the purest most distilled forms of human emotions. And with so many of us grieving, perhaps it can be something that connects us, bringing us closer together, to bring the world back from the precipice. I'm no expert when it comes to spiritualism but I would have thought that, to understand true enlightenment, you need to accept that through life you will experience the fullest range of emotions, both good and bad - and through it all, just be. You are not defined by what happens to you, and it wasn't your fault. Bad shit just happens sometimes. And grieving is an essential part of coming to terms with what has happened, to help you move forward. "Let it go" may seem like good advice, but anyone who has grieved knows it's not as simple as that. Suffering and grief - they don't leave you. You are not defined by what happened, you are still the same person you were before - but it does reshape you. You find yourself reprioritising things in your life, maybe even losing interest in some things altogether. You are the same person you were before - you can't just let it go. I've read somewhere that grief is like a big red ball bouncing around inside a box, and each time the ball hits the sides of the box that is a visualisation of the pain you feel when grief hits. When the grief you feel is at its highest, usually the weeks and months immediately after your loss, that ball is at its largest and most painful. And this is the point in which grief takes over and you can't think of anything else - for me this was my 'alone every night and catatonic in bed' era. But over time the ball reduces in size and you can start to function a lot better than before. Occasionally you will feel a ping of grief as the smaller ball hits off the side of the box, but otherwise you can function with your life as the grief isn't so impactful and destructive. The ball will keep changing size, more often than not shrinking but sometimes growing again, as things become more painful - especially around anniversary dates, birthdays.. Christmas. But you learn to carry it with you. It never truly goes away, that box and ball are yours to keep. It isn't something to be fearful of either - grief honours what you love. So in a weird way, cherish it. It means what was lost was meaningful. You mustn't let that go. Thank you, I hope my words can provide comfort in some way ❤️