Model created by Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in 1969 from work with terminally ill patients. Describes typical reactions to loss as denial → anger → bargaining → depression/sadness → acceptance. Anita uses it to argue that every small daily loss (no parking, ugly code review, surprise feature) triggers a miniature version of this cycle, because a loss doesn't have to be physical — it can be loss of something anticipated, loss of opportunity, or loss of comfort.