anticipatory grief
Sorrow before loss
Anticipatory grief is mourning that begins before a death or loss actually occurs.
It arises when someone knows a loved one is dying or when loss becomes inevitable: The months of anticipatory grief while my father was in hospice were exhausting.
The grief may include sadness, anger, and preparation for life after the loss, sometimes easing but sometimes complicating bereavement when death finally comes.
- terminal illnessIncurable, deadly medical condition
- ruminationProlonged, repetitive thinking
- spiritual beliefsConvictions about transcendent reality
- sadnessState of emotional pain
- hospice careEnd-of-life medical comfort
ritualizing · anxiety · dread · caregiving · withdrawal · family dynamics · preoccupation · acceptance · holding on · unfinished business · overplanning · quality time · fear · crying · yearning · vulnerability · reflection · guilt
- griefmourning, bereavement, sorrow, lamentation, sadness
- hospice carehospice, hospice care, hospice doctor, hospice aide, hospice volunteer
- supportive carecounseling services, comfort care, emotional support, support networks, coping strategies
- Child Lossbereavement, mourning, stillbirth, miscarriage, SIDS
- eco-anxietyeco-anxiety, climate anxiety, climate fear, climate despair, climate doom
anticipatory griefdenial
Refusal to accept reality
death denial · avoidance · emotional detachment · emotional numbness · dissociation
anticipate, anticipation, anticipated, anticipating, anticipatory, anticipates, grief, griefs, grieve