The Silent Grief of Caregivers

Caring for a beloved family member comes from a place of love. Those of us who have been longterm caregivers often experience personal development that we would never have imagined. But there’s another aspect of family caregiving that is seldom discussed and it is a story of anguish and loss. The world often thinks of grief only in terms of bereavement, but grief is a set of emotions and feelings that come in relation to any loss, including the loss of hopes and dreams. The experience of grief is both an internal one and a social one. Social norms, social support and knowledge of how to acknowledge grief can have an enormous impact on the wellbeing of a caregiver and, indeed any grieving person.

For 22 years, Sue Haldane has been the primary caregiver for her daughter, who was born with a rare disorder. For around ten years, Sue has studied grief of all kinds, particularly how societal norms impact on how individuals grieve.