Existential Absence

Abstract

When older people develop delirium, their demeanor changes; they often behave in ways that are out of character and seem to inhabit another world. Despite this, little is known about the experiences of family members who are with their older loved one at this time. This article reports a phenomenological study that involved in-depth interviews with 14 women whose older loved one had delirium. Analysis and interpretation of the data depict the women’s experiences as “Changing family portraits: Sudden existential absence during delirium,” capturing the way family members lose the taken-for-granted presence of their familiar older loved one and confront a stranger during delirium.