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@article{189137,
        author = {Rashee Kapoor and Ujwala Rajanikanth Reddy},
        title = {Grieving the Living: A Qualitative Exploration of Ambiguous Loss and Emotional Unavailability},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {7},
        pages = {4642-4657},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=189137},
        abstract = {Grief is conventionally understood as a response to death or permanent physical loss. However, an underexplored yet psychologically profound form of grief occurs when individuals mourn people who are still alive but emotionally unavailable. This phenomenon, often referred to as ambiguous loss, challenges traditional grief models due to the absence of social recognition, ritual closure, and finality. The present qualitative study explores the lived experiences of individuals grieving emotionally unavailable significant others, including parents, partners, and caregivers. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 adults aged 21–45. Five superordinate themes emerged: (1) mourning without death, (2) chronic hope and repeated disappointment, (3) identity erosion and self-blame, (4) social invalidation and disenfranchised grief, and (5) meaning-making and psychological reorganization. Findings suggest that grieving the living constitutes a distinct, enduring form of loss with significant implications for mental health, attachment patterns, and identity development. Clinical implications highlight the need for grief-informed, attachment-sensitive, and transdiagnostic therapeutic approaches. The study calls for expanded grief frameworks that acknowledge emotional absence as a legitimate site of mourning.},
        keywords = {ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief, emotional unavailability, attachment, qualitative research},
        month = {December},
        }