Ambiguous loss
Loss without closure or clear understanding
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ambiguous loss is a loss that occurs without a significant likelihood of reaching emotional closure or a clear understanding. This kind of loss leaves a person searching for answers, and thus complicates and delays the process of grieving, and often results in unresolved grief. Causes include infertility, termination of pregnancy, disappearance of a family member, estrangement, death of an ex-spouse, and a family member being physically alive but in a state of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease.