Anticipatory grief — losing someone before they die

Anticipatory grief is the mourning that begins before the death — watching a parent decline, caring for a partner with a terminal diagnosis, sitting with someone you are losing before they are gone. It is real grief, and it does not use up the grief that comes after the death; it simply extends the arc of mourning into a territory of particular loneliness. This domain looks at anticipatory grief honestly, including what it asks of those who carry it while maintaining a relationship with the person still alive.