The Long Goodbye: Coping With Sadness And Grief Before A Loved One Dies

By Judith Graham

“…frailty and serious illness can involve significant losses over an extended period of time, giving rise to sadness and grief for years. Looming over everything is the loss of the future that an older adult and his or her family imagined they might have, often accompanied by anxiety and dread.

This pileup of complex emotions is known as “anticipatory loss.” “The deterioration of function, disability and suffering have their own grieving processes, but helping families deal with that isn’t built into the health care system,” said Dr. John Rolland, professor of psychiatry at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine…”

Rolland and several other experts offered advice on how to deal with difficult emotions that can arise with frailty or serious illness, such as acknowledging your feelings, talking openly, communicating sensitively, leaning in, seeking support.

Read the full article at https://khn.org/news/the-long-goodbye-coping-with-sadness-and-grief-before-a-loved-one-dies/view/republish/