Broken heart
For most bereaved individuals, the journey through grief will ultimately culminate in an acceptable level of adjustment to a life without their loved one. The Kübler-Ross model postulates that there are five stages of grief after the loss of a loved-one: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. And while it is recognized that mourners go through initial period of numbness leading to depression and finally to reorganization and recovery, most modern grief specialists recognize the variations and fluidity of grief experiences differ considerably in intensity and length among cultural groups, individually from person to person as well as depending on the amount of investment put into the relationship.
Truth Serum (EP)
Some critics compared the storyline to the five stages of grief, a theory introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Alex Panisch of "Out" opined that the first five tracks "document the five stages of a relationship turning sour: good times, doubt, breaking up, coping, and still being hung up". Critics also noted that, unlike other artists' break up records, the singer admits in "Truth Serum" that she was the person who made a mistake that ended the relationship. Panisch commented that; "When female artists sing about breakups [...] they almost overwhelmingly write themselves in the position of the wronged party and their songs are about recovering and strengthening from the experience. [...] Tove Lo flips the script on this narrative". Shanon Carlin of Radio.com stated that the singer "doesn't try and capitalize off her heartbreak by writing a female empowerment anthem that shames the guy who did her wrong. No, on this album, Lo is not an innocent. It's actually quite the opposite".