Grief and the Emotional Evolution of the Alzheimer ’s Caregiver

As I reviewed descriptions of the stages of grief, I realized that Alzheimer ’s and dementia caregivers may go through them as well.Elisabeth K übler-Ross was the author of the groundbreaking bookOn Death and Dying, in which she laid out her theory of the five stages of grief.They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:By Marie MarleyAlzheimer's Reading RoomAs I reviewed descriptions of the stages, I realized that Alzheimer ’s caregivers may go through them as well. I realized that having a loved one living with Alzheimer’s is a kind of death in and of itself.Our loved one is never coming back as he or she was before the disease struck. And through experiencing the stages of grief we may finally come to accept this reality.According to Grief.com, people often think of the stages as lasting weeks or months. They forget that the stages are responses to feelings that can last for minutes or hours as we flip in and out of one and then another.We do not enter and leave each individual stage in order. We may feel one, then another and back again to the first one. The stages are not always felt in the order listed. Furthermore, not everyone experiences all of the stages.1 of the Worst Emotions of Alzheimer's - "Guilt"Let ’s look at each stage, as they are described on Grief.com. You may be surprised at how perfectly they describe the feelings you are experiencing as a caregiver.“Denial is the first of the fi...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: acceptance alzheimer's care anger bargaining caregiving dementia care denial DEPRESSION how to grieve stages of grief alzheimer's dementia Source Type: blogs