Grieving: facilitating the process for dementia caregivers

1. Grief is a psychological and physiological process that occurs in response to a specific loss. Through the grieving process, those who have experienced a loss come to terms with the finality of the loss and the meaning of the loss in their life. 2. Dementias bring a number of predeath losses that cause caregivers to grieve. Because such losses are often hard to recognize, nurses can plan interventions to facilitate predeath grief. 3. Even when dementia caregivers are able to work through their predeath grief, they cannot fully re-establish their lives until after their relative dies. Some caregivers may never completely resolve the predeath and postdeath losses that have resulted from caring for their relative.