The Intriguing Psychology Behind Complicated Grief

A person’s natural reaction to losing a loved one is grief. It comes with pain, sorrow, and loss. Some persons who have recently lost a loved one or are going through grieving for another cause may develop complicated grief, also known as complicated bereavement disorder.

While for most individuals, the depth of loss normally lessens over time, these emotions don’t get better for those who are dealing with difficult grief. They could be so strong that they interfere with their daily lives.

Additionally, a person with difficult mourning may exhibit some dysfunctional behaviours and have irrational notions, such as the idea that the deceased person might come back to life. It’s a persistent sort of grief that could harm one’s life. Complicated grief happens when sadness persists. 7% of those who have lost a loved one may struggle with difficult grieving.

Complicated grieving exhibits similar signs and symptoms to simple grief. However, complicated grieving symptoms are more severe and stay longer than typical grief symptoms, which eventually go away.

Some warning indications are as follows:

• Avoiding reminders of their loss excessively
• Constantly reflecting on their loss
• Intense yearning for a deceased person
• Having a sense of purposelessness in life
• Hunting for memories of items that remind them of the person they’ve lost excessively
• Suicidal ideas
• Refusing to acknowledge that the loss has occurred
• Constantly having disturbing thoughts about the person, you lost

Physical manifestations of complicated grieving are possible. People who have the condition may go through:

• Reduced appetite
• Insomnia
• Stress
• Immune system dysfunction

A normal response to losing a loved one is grief. It becomes complex when it persists and is accompanied by dysfunctional actions and unhelpful beliefs. It’s significant to note that the official diagnosis manual of the American Psychiatric Association does not include compounded grief. But it is a genuine illness that could be quite harmful.

Six months to a year following a loss, you might have complicated grieving, according to some people, if you’re still feeling acute sadness. However, this is not a set rule or regulation.

A group of mental health professionals developed a diagnostic benchmark for difficult mourning in a 1997 study.

They put out the subsequent diagnostic standards to help identify whether or not a person is dealing with complicated grief. These consist of:

• At least 6 months have passed since the loss.
•  Longing for the deceased, loneliness, and grief are examples of symptoms of chronic and acute grief.

At least two of the following: shock, anger, distrust of others, and unwillingness to accept death signs

• Persistent symptoms he has lasted more than 1 month
•  Symptoms seriously affect a person’s quality of life.  
•  inability to continue normal activities
•  Avoid situations and activities that make you think about the missing person.
•  sleep problems
•  Indifference to taking care of yourself
•  reckless, irrational and possibly self-destructive behaviour; 

Sometimes complicated mourning is mistaken for depression. While both may exhibit some similar symptoms, such as sadness and hopelessness, complicated mourning is not a mental condition while depression is.

Numerous signs of difficult grief can resemble depressive ones. Complicated grief can occasionally even progress to depression. Complicated grieving can coexist with depression, which exacerbates the symptoms of the disorder.

One could potentially have PTSD in circumstances of violent and abrupt death. Untreated difficult grieving may lead to a number of issues, such as:

• Suicide and suicidal thoughts 
• Anxiety 
• Substance abuse 
• Depression

Treatment

The goal of treating complicated sorrow is to assist those who are experiencing it in starting their recovery journey. The most frequently used form of treatment for this disease is bereavement therapy.

It’s also crucial to treat the underlying mental health problem when complicated sorrow develops or is coexisting with it. Antidepressants, for instance, may also assist to ease the symptoms of complicated mourning when depression is present.

To better understand your emotional state, a bereavement counsellor will help you to track your grieving. A bereavement support group will help you deal with any loss and sadness you may be experiencing.

You may feel better after realizing that you are not alone and that others share your thoughts and can relate to them. Additionally, you might visit a psychodynamic therapist. Your therapist might be able to shed some light on the connections between your current loss and earlier losses.

Another alternative for treatment that has been shown to be successful for complex grieving is trauma-informed grief counselling. Here, a therapist will help you get over your loss through behavioural strategies and interpersonal skills. Your doctor will choose the most effective course of treatment for you. Complicated grieving may be treated with a mix of medication and therapy.

Grief is a difficult emotion to feel, and it may often be more difficult to deal with the pain and sense of loss that go along with it on your lonesome. You shouldn’t be reluctant to reach out to friends and family members who can relate to what you are going through.

If you are a close relative of someone going through severe sorrow, you can support them by assisting them in finding the appropriate therapy and care for their illness.

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