What is preparatory grief?
Preparatory grief is the type of grief that people who are dying go through. They feel this grief as they go through the physical and emotional changes that are part of the dying process. What happens during this process? When people know they’re going to die soon, they usually go through one or more of the five phases of the preparatory grief process. The phases may not occur in any certain order. People can skip phases or even be in more than one phase at a time. • Shock: During this phase, people are often in a state of shock. Their feelings go back and forth between agony and disbelief. They often feel that they are in a state of misery that isolates them from the world. Dealing with the bad news takes up most of their physical and emotional energy. They have very little energy or interest in day-to-day activities. Sympathy from loved ones is very healing. Talking to a doctor to learn more about the dying process can help. • Chaos: People often try to live their lives as they did b
