Owners of senior golden retrievers often begin violently mourning the loss of their completely alive dogs months before any actual tragedy occurs, forcing their exhausted nervous…

A closer look

We love our pets so deeply that our brains decide to proactively torture us with their deaths before they even get sick. Anticipatory grief is the mind's cruel attempt to prepare for an inevitable loss by simulating the emotional devastation in advance. Unfortunately, the nervous system cannot easily tell the difference between a tragic simulation and a real tragedy. This forces you to process complex, exhausting bereavement while your deeply confused dog is literally sitting right next to you chewing on a squeaky toy.