Alzheimer's Care and Grief, Types, Stages and Symptoms

This article provides an important and easilyunderstandable introduction to grief—the types, states and symptoms Alzheimer’s caregivers will most likely have to face.Caregiver Excellence and Alzheimer's CareSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:Types of Grief1.Mourning the Loss of the “Person Who Was.” This is a type of grief particularly strong for caregivers of people who are living with Alzheimer ’s. It is prompted by the loved one’s personality changes and deterioration of cognitive ability.Caregivers can fall into a deep state of despair as their loved one declines.Coping with Dementia2.Anticipatory grief, which doesn ’t always occur, is that which occurs when a person is expecting a loss, such as the impending death of a loved one. This is especially difficult for Alzheimer’s caregivers, since several years typically pass between the diagnosis and the person’s eventual death. According to an excellent arti cle on theFamily Caregiver Alliance website,“anticipatory grief is a way of allowing us to prepare emotionally for the inevitable.”3.Grieving Upon the Person ’s Death. This type of grief is pretty much the same for Alzheimer ’s caregivers as it is for anyone else experiencing the death of a loved one. But sometimes it is even more difficult for those caring for a person who has Alzheimer’s since the person may have been grieving for his or her loved one (through anticipatory grief) for a considerable amount of time before the loved...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's care caring for dementia patients at home dementia care dementia help for caregivers family caregiving grief health help alzheimer's help with dementia care Source Type: blogs