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Anticipatory grief refers to a grief reaction that occurs before an impending loss. Typically, the impending loss is a death of someone close or one's own death due to illness. The anticipated death can also be from high suicide lethality, high risk lifestyle, gang involvement and the like. Anticipatory grief can also be a response to other types of impending losses (i.e. a scheduled mastectomy, a pending divorce, a company downsizing, a country at war).

The post-loss stages of grief: denial, bargaining, depression, anger and acceptance (Kubler-Ross) can also be present in anticipatory grief. Anxiety, dread, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, and feeling overwhelmed are also common. Grief happening prior to a loss presents a compounding issue of isolation because of a lack of social acceptance. Anticipatory grief doesn't usually take the place of post-loss grief; however, it may provide some sense of orientation and access to the grieving process. For some, it prompts conscious closure before the end/loss. [1]

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