A further concept that I think is useful here is known as "Anticipatory Grief." The death of a significant other may have been anticipated. An illness can drag on over a great length of time and sometimes a person has been functionally dead for months before his physical death.

In such circumstances, the bereaved begins the grief process before the person actually dies, rehearsing the role of survivor, imagining what their life will be once this significant other is finally gone.

Though the evidence is inconsistent, anticipatory grief or forewarning of the impending death of another, is generally viewed as useful for future adjustment.

Copyright 2000