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Anticipatory grief involves mourning someone or something lost that still exists.

Anticipatory grief is an assumed loss constructed by memory and imagination.

The individual who anticipates loss may privately adopt the identity of a grieving person.

When we experience anticipatory grief, we prepare for a future event while also mourning someone or something lost that still exists. Anticipatory grief takes countless forms. Sensing that a partner is cheating may trigger anticipatory grief, as can a loved one’s wartime deployment, a parent’s cognitive decline, a sick pet, or a friend’s serious illness. We may also experience anticipatory grief when we fear losing an identity, a sense of self, or an imagined future, whether due to aging, retirement, disability, job loss, or separation.

The definition of anticipatory grief has evolved over many decades and now commonly refers to reactions and thoughts related to the impending loss of someone or something of value. Anticipatory grief is an assumed loss constructed by memory and imagination (McCarroll & Yan, 2024), enabling us to use present and past circumstances to project future bereavement (Evans, A. J., 1994; Fulton, R., 2003). Thus, anticipatory grief is both temporal and relational, involving a continuous negotiation between the ongoing relationship and the potential loss (Dekker, 2023).

Effects of Anticipatory Grief

The possibility of loss can bring grief into awareness, occupying a person’s emotions and disrupting their thoughts. As a result, the individual who anticipates loss may privately adopt the........

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