Is rage a part of grief?

It may be that your mother is staying with you and disrupting your life. It may not have as much to do with grief as handling your mother at an already difficult time.

pure panic !!
when my mom was diagnosed as terminal i already lived with her but at this point the heat was on . i have to admit that i read nearly every article that AC ever produced in order to comprehend what was to be expected .
terminal caregiving is a scary place that , in hindsight , youve dreaded and feared all of your life .

1golflady - I know what you mean. I wasn't left with a mess when my dad passed but I was left with my mother. I never realized what a buffer he was between everything, everyone and the difficulties that is my mother. I know as well the toll dealing with her and her selfish, vindictive nature has taken on me - I am changed forever and not for the better. Most of the time when I visit now mom is asleep. I still stay for an hour or so, straightening up her room, hanging and refolding her cloths, accessing what supplies I need to bring on my next visit. To be truthful, I am relieved when I walk into her room and she is fast asleep. At least I know it will be a peaceful visit with no criticism, arguing or manipulations. Sometimes I stand there looking at her - wishing things could have been different. But they weren't and I can only hope that someday I can find some peace in my heart when I think of her.

The anger can take any direction. Sometimes the family is angry with the doctors, or angry at Hospice. Mostly they get angry with each other, over things like the funeral, the burial, what to do with his stuff, etc. Talking may help you, with others going through the same thing.

Have you been able to greive your father? When my dad passed I had about seven hours to greive - he passed late at night and the hospice facility called me. Then I was the one who had to go tell my mother. From the moment I told her until very recently my life became all about mom. Taking care of my very difficult mother left no opportunity for me to let down or let go. I'm sure once my mother passes I will probably finally be able to greive for my daddy, whom I adored. In the mean time I keep my sorrow bottled up tight. I'm sure this contributes to the anger I feel towards my mother. But then again mom and I have always had a complicated relationship.

Rage, Anger--as everyone has stated, part of the grieving process. It's kind of like we HAVE to go through all these steps or the emotions come flying out of nowhere and land on innocent people.
It's a sort of "kick the dog" thing--you get mad at your oldest kid, they pass that anger down the line and the youngest "kicks the dog".
It's when you can't pass through theses stages that there's a problem. Acknowledge that you are angry--for whatever reason...feel the anger and pain and let it out appropriately (not punching people, of course, nor a dog!) and eventually it passes. When acceptance comes, peace will come.

When my estranged brother died, 3 years ago, I was surprised at how angry I was. Not for what he had done to me, but at the horrible treatment of his children, whom he abused and neglected and his ex wives and all the people he had hurt and whose lives he had impacted so negatively. I was angry at him for a long time. Over time, as I spoke to his kids and his exes, I came to see that they were slowly forgiving him, and moving on. So did I. Not overnight, and not without some backsliding, but now I can think of him and not feel the flush of anger that was my first response.

Just don't "kick the dog". I liked the idea of smashing stuff and hitting the mattress with the baseball bat. Physical releases that won't hurt someone innocent.

Dear Missouriflower,

Thank you for your post. I have this experience as well. My parents are divorced. And since my dad's passing I too have anger towards my mother. I feel it was my father's misfortune to have married her. My mother was always a trouble maker. She made everyone's lives harder it seems to me. I know grief has not made me rational or reasonable.

And I have to accept my mother also had a hard life. Because of this anger towards my mother, I've tried to give myself some distance for now. I'm also looking at counseling and joining a support group. But thank you for giving voice to these feelings after one parents passes on.

Denial, a stage of grief.
ANGER turned inward = depression.
Rage-a symptom of burnout or PTSD.
Have you ever been in a heated argument, then you pick up the phone and sweetly answer, hello? That, lol, is proof one can turn rage on/off.
Learn to readily identify the feelings, the triggers that this anger is about to take your heart and mind for a quick ride. Instead, without a word, go outside in your p.j.'s if necessary! Take a walk, three deep breaths. If this continues, go for help. Coming here to vent your unacceptable (to you) feelings will help over time.
After a time you won't like yourself much if you cannot contain your anger and express it a more healthy way.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
{{{{{Hugs!}}}}}}

Anger at Mom = displaced anger, but real irritability.
Have you always been this nice, or did you just pass through a door and enter a twilight zone? I am guessing you have been pretty normal all along, or you would not have asked your question, or be concerned about it.

The death of your father is a real loss, Missouriflower. There are so many things that could be going on, you might want to explore those feelings with a professional, or read some self-help books. Maybe someone here can suggest a book related to father-daughter lost relationships. You can talk more with us.

Sorry for your loss.

I went through all these stages when Mom was still alive and getting worse and worse. I was angry at some of the doctors, angry at the hospital, angry at the nursing homes that were rated 5 stars by Medicare but let wounds and broken bones happen when an aide let my Mom slide to the floor, angry at the stupid questions I sometimes got from nursing home personnel. All these emotions went round and round. Then I took Mom home on hospice and the hospice people were so good that I could not believe it. Mom died several months ago, and now in addition to the loser nursing homes, I am angry at some of her lifelong friends for not responding to her death, her ex business partner who tried one last attempt to hose me out of a lot of money only 2 weeks after Mom's death in front of 2 law firms and many others. I don't know if that woman is that brazen or getting dementia herself at 74 but thankfully she was stopped. I am still angry at her and so many people. People can be so stupid and I guess that is not my fault but I am angry at myself too for being around such losers and feeling vulnerable. At some point maybe composing a letter to all the losers will help me...whether I send it or not.