Alzheimer’s Disease and Grief: The Anguish of Multiple Losses

Grief may be triggered by the death of a loved one. People can also experience grief if they have an illness for which there is no cure, or a chronic condition that affects their quality of life. The end of a significant relationship may also cause a grieving process. By Marie Marley Alzheimer's Reading Room Death is typically a clear starting point for grief, and it’s clear that eventually there will be more or less an end to it. But with dementia, loss comes in bits and pieces and drags on and on for many years before the loved one even dies. It is understandable why people feel overwhelmed by the prospect of so many years of grieving. 1. Grief Over the Loss of the “Previous Person" When a loved one is showing clear signs of dementia, that person begins to fade away, resulting in feelings of loss and despair. And there are so many losses over time. These may include things such as negative personality changes, not being able to have meaningful conversations, and, in many cases, the person with dementia not even recognizing loved ones. One way to deal with these continuing losses is to learn to let go of the “previous person” and learn to love and cherish the new person just as he or she is. Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room Email: 2. Anticipatory Grief Anticipatory grief is that which often occurs when one is expecting a person to die. It typically has the same symptoms as grief after any other death. To deal with this it can be help...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Dementia Authors: Source Type: blogs