Anticipatory grief

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Anticipatory grief, also known as preparatory grief, refers to a feeling of grief occurring before an impending loss. Typically, the impending loss is the death of someone close due to illness. This can be experienced by dying individuals themselves and can also be felt due to non-death-related losses like a pending divorce, company downsizing, or war. Since its introduction in the 1940s, the definition of anticipatory grief has remained contested, and its use in academic research has been marked by some inconsistency. There is also no clear consensus on its psychological impact, with studies reporting both beneficial and adverse effects.

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