Preparatory and Anticipatory Grief | UPMC HealthBeat Podcast

When a loved one receives a terminal diagnosis, it affects everyone in the family. Elizabeth Schandelmeier, LCSW, APHSW-C of Family Hospice, Part of UPMC discusses ways to cope with the emotions of grief that can arise before the loss of a friend or family member.

[Ceedeetunis]

I have been seeking answers about questions and feelings that I am having about my dying mother and I am so grateful that I ran into this podcast. I didn’t even know that the term anticipatory grief existed but it fits perfectly with what I am going through right now. I have a loving but very closed family. We never talk about something as sensitive as death. Our mother is 95 years old and has been the bedrock of our family. Our conversations have revolved around the fact that our mother is a fighter and that she will pull through. That has put me in a space whereby thinking anything outside of hope feels like a bad thing. I can go on but just wanted to let you know that this conversation was very helpful to me. I even shared it with my sister who also found it to be very helpful

[pazley]

Thank you for presenting this topic. There are so many Alzheimer caregivers like myself that I’m sure appreciate and benefit from your presentation of this very important topic.

[vinucete]

Thank you for this conversation, I really appreciate it.

[dougd]

Mostly everything discussed here was useful EXCEPT when the counselor said the actual death can be worse for people experiencing anticipatory grief compared to those who are not. Why say something that only increases our anxiety, especially without following up with something we can do to deal with this?