Anticipatory Grief | Alzheimer's, Dementia & the Stages of Grieving

By Paula Spencer, Caring.com senior editor

What is anticipatory grief?

Anticipatory grief is the emotional pain of losing a loved one, felt in advance of the person's death. It's a common phenomenon among those who care for the terminally ill.

It may be experienced at any time by any one connected to someone with Alzheimer's, but it's especially common at the middle and late stages of the disease.

Why Alzheimer's caregivers are vulnerable to anticipatory grief

Good-byes are always painful, and Alzheimer's is the ultimate "long good-bye." Anticipatory grief is rampant, and perhaps inevitable, among Alzheimer's caregivers because of the slow, progressive, and incurable nature of the disease. University of Indianapolis researchers asked more than 400 caregivers the open-ended question, "What would you say is the biggest barrier you have faced as a caregiver?" The majority -- more than 80 percent -- referred to the loss of the person they used to know.

The friends and family of someone with dementia experience two difficult psychological states at once:

• Anticipatory grief, coping with the very real feelings of loss for someone who is still alive
• Ambiguous loss, interacting with someone who's not fully present socially or psychologically

via caring.com

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