Grief, Mourning and Guilt

Published On: April 11, 20161 min read
An older woman with gray hair covers her face with both hands, wearing a beige sweater and white collared shirt, conveying grief against a neutral background.

Grief, Mourning and Guilt

It’s normal to feel loss when you care about someone who has Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also normal to feel guilty, abandoned and angry. You’re entitled to these emotions and may start to experience them as soon as you learn of the diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s gradually takes away the person you know and love. As this happens, you’ll mourn him or her and experience the phases of grieving: denial, anger, guilt, sadness and acceptance. The stages of grief don’t happen neatly in order. You’ll move in and out of different stages as time goes on. Some common experiences in the grieving process include:

Denial

Anger

Guilt

Sadness

Acceptance

Face your feelings

Accept yourself

Get support

Take care of yourself

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research.

Updated October 2004