swmn
Distinguished member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2007
- Messages
- 147
- Reason
- CALS
- Country
- US
- State
- Wi
- City
- marshfield
Hi All -
I want to share with you the following, because I have realized through my Pastor - and a dear friend from this forum Where my Brain / heart is at as I try to be supportive as a CALS. Please read the excerpt , and pursue the rest from the link... I find all of you as a support network for this Anticipatory grief - and so glad you all are so kind to share openly.
Anticipatory grief is the name given to the mix of emotions experienced when we are living in expectation of loss and grieving because of it. Anticipatory Grief is particularly relevant to those who have received a terminal diagnosis and for those who love and care for them....
Whether our grief is anticipatory or grief due to the death of a loved one, there is a very real need to talk to someone about the roller coaster of emotions we are experiencing. This however is not always easy to do, due to a number of reasons which may include; trying to remain strong for the patient, trying to remain strong for the children, trying to put on a brave face for other family members and friends.
Counseling, though readily available, is resisted by many, who believe that no one could possibly understand what they are feeling, nor do anything about the outcome.
The only trouble with counseling is that it may not always be available when you need it. I highly recommend keeping a personal diary for these occasions. During the two years of my husbands terminal illness, my diary was without a doubt, my strongest coping tool, I wrote in it daily, often in the form of poetry, pouring my anger, my fear and my heartache on to the pages. Periodically, I would read back through it and through this I came to know myself very well - later I could see my strength coming through.
Excerpts and poems from my diary now form a major part of my book “Lean on Me” Cancer through a Carer’s Eyes.
Article written by: Lorraine Kember – Author of “Lean on Me”
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Cope-with-Anticipatory-Grief&id=9461
I want to share with you the following, because I have realized through my Pastor - and a dear friend from this forum Where my Brain / heart is at as I try to be supportive as a CALS. Please read the excerpt , and pursue the rest from the link... I find all of you as a support network for this Anticipatory grief - and so glad you all are so kind to share openly.
Anticipatory grief is the name given to the mix of emotions experienced when we are living in expectation of loss and grieving because of it. Anticipatory Grief is particularly relevant to those who have received a terminal diagnosis and for those who love and care for them....
Whether our grief is anticipatory or grief due to the death of a loved one, there is a very real need to talk to someone about the roller coaster of emotions we are experiencing. This however is not always easy to do, due to a number of reasons which may include; trying to remain strong for the patient, trying to remain strong for the children, trying to put on a brave face for other family members and friends.
Counseling, though readily available, is resisted by many, who believe that no one could possibly understand what they are feeling, nor do anything about the outcome.
The only trouble with counseling is that it may not always be available when you need it. I highly recommend keeping a personal diary for these occasions. During the two years of my husbands terminal illness, my diary was without a doubt, my strongest coping tool, I wrote in it daily, often in the form of poetry, pouring my anger, my fear and my heartache on to the pages. Periodically, I would read back through it and through this I came to know myself very well - later I could see my strength coming through.
Excerpts and poems from my diary now form a major part of my book “Lean on Me” Cancer through a Carer’s Eyes.
Article written by: Lorraine Kember – Author of “Lean on Me”
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Cope-with-Anticipatory-Grief&id=9461