{"id":1397877,"date":"2022-03-24T08:30:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T12:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1397877"},"modified":"2022-03-24T08:30:44","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T12:30:44","slug":"prolonged-grief-disorder-now-officially-considered-a-mental-health-condition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prolonged-grief-disorder-now-officially-considered-a-mental-health-condition\/","title":{"rendered":"Prolonged Grief Disorder Now Officially Considered a Mental Health Condition"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fprolonged-grief-disorder-now-officially-considered-a-mental-health-condition%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1397877&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">Caucasian woman laying on bed with red and yellow gel lights<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><i>Getty Images <\/i><\/p>\n<p>As of last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:prolonged grief disorder\" class=\"link\">prolonged grief disorder<\/a>, officially became a new diagnosis in the latest edition of the <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/em> (DSM), the catalog of psychological conditions widely used by clinicians to diagnose patients is the standard classification of mental disorders. Despite the nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(12)60258-X\/fulltext\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:decade-long debate\" class=\"link\">decade-long debate<\/a> on whether grief should need medical treatment, the diagnosis became official during a time when many Americans continue to experience ongoing disasters that have caused death and suffering, such as COVID-19, reports the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:American Psychological Association\" class=\"link\">American Psychological Association<\/a> (APA).<\/p>\n<p>Characterized by incapacitating feelings of grief, prolonged grief disorder happens when a person loses someone close to them (e.g. friend or family member) within at least six months for children and adolescents or within at least 12 months for adults, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:APA\" class=\"link\">APA<\/a>. Typically, the bereaved individual experiences an intense yearning for or preoccupation with the deceased person \u2014 so much so that their reactions to the loss preoccupy them almost every day for at least a month.<\/p>\n<p>Their bereavement is considered to last longer than social norms (think: five stages of grief), causing distress or problems functioning in important aspects of their lives, such as socially or occupationally. Other symptoms of prolonged grief disorder include identity disruption (i.e. feeling as if part of yourself has died), a marked sense of disbelief about the death, avoidance of reminders that the person is dead, intense emotional pain, intense loneliness, emotional numbness, or a feeling that life is meaningless, among others, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:APA\" class=\"link\">APA<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The circumstances in which we are living, with more than 675,000 deaths due to COVID, may make prolonged grief disorder more prevalent,&#8221; said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/about-apa\/meet-our-organization\/board-of-trustees\/vivian-pender\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Vivian B. Pender\" class=\"link\">Vivian B. Pender<\/a>, M.D, president of the APA in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:news release from the association\" class=\"link\">news release from the association<\/a> about the official disorder. (See more: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shape.com\/lifestyle\/mind-and-body\/processing-grief-during-coronavirus\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Why It&#039;s So Important to Understand Grief During Coronavirus\" class=\"link\">Why It&#8217;s So Important to Understand Grief During Coronavirus<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in the <em>DSM<\/em> means that clinicians can now bill insurance companies for treating people for the condition, reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/18\/health\/prolonged-grief-disorder.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The New York Times\" class=\"link\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em> Currently, clinical trials are testing the drug <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7848251\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:naltrexone\" class=\"link\">naltrexone<\/a>, which is a drug used to help treat addiction, as a form of grief therapy and, according to the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7848251\/https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/18\/health\/prolonged-grief-disorder.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NTY\" class=\"link\">NTY<\/a><\/em>, the development will likely set off a stream of pharmaceutical research on other potential prescriptions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Including prolonged grief disorder in the <em>DSM-5-TR <\/em>will mean that mental health clinicians and patients and families alike share an understanding of what normal grief looks like and what might indicate a long-term problem,&#8221; said Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A, CEO and medical director of the APA, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorderhttps:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/newsroom\/news-releases\/apa-offers-tips-for-understanding-prolonged-grief-disorder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:association&#039;s news release\" class=\"link\">association&#8217;s news release<\/a>. &#8220;Especially now, sharing information and increasing awareness about prolonged grief disorder is essential.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That being said, some critics fear that the new diagnosis will cause false positives and encourage drug companies to persuade the public that they need medical treatment to cope with mourning, according to the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/18\/health\/prolonged-grief-disorder.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NYT\" class=\"link\">NYT<\/a><\/em>. &#8220;I completely, utterly disagree that grief is a mental illness,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/drjoanne\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Joanne Cacciatore, Ph.D.\" class=\"link\">Joanne Cacciatore, Ph.D.<\/a>, an associated professor of social work at Arizona State University who operates the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/selah_carefarm\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Selah Carefarm\" class=\"link\">Selah Carefarm<\/a>, a retreat for bereaved people, told the publication. &#8220;When someone who is a quote-unquote expert tells us we are disordered and we are feeling very vulnerable and feeling overwhelmed, we no longer trust ourselves and our emotions. To me, that is an incredibly dangerous move, and short-sighted.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, others hope that the official diagnosis will offer help to those who have withdrawn from society due to their losses, not just recently but also throughout history. &#8220;They were the widows who wore black for the rest of their lives, who withdrew from social contacts and lived the rest of their lives in memory of the husband or wife who they had lost,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.columbiapsychiatry.org\/profile\/paul-s-appelbaum-md\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D\" class=\"link\">Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D<\/a>., chair of the steering committee overseeing revisions to the fifth edition of the <em>DSM<\/em>, told the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/18\/health\/prolonged-grief-disorder.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NYT\" class=\"link\">NYT<\/a><\/em>. &#8220;They were the parents who never got over it, and that was how we talked about them. Colloquially, we would say they never got over the loss of that child.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While some might argue that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shape.com\/lifestyle\/mind-and-body\/grieve-identity-before-motherhood\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:grief is a key aspect of the human experience\" class=\"link\">grief is a key aspect of the human experience<\/a> and thus not a medical condition, there&#8217;s no denying that the ongoing pandemic has made it so that loss and bereavement are seemingly more present than ever before. So, official medical diagnosis aside, heed Dr. Pender&#8217;s words: &#8220;If you&#8217;ve recently lost someone close to you, it&#8217;s very important to check in with yourself. Grief in these circumstances is normal, but not at certain levels and not most of the day, nearly every day for months. Help is available.&#8221; (Up next: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shape.com\/lifestyle\/mind-and-body\/anxiety-grief-covid-pandemic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:A Grief Expert&#039;s Take On Pandemic Anxiety\" class=\"link\">A Grief Expert&#8217;s Take On Pandemic Anxiety<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Caucasian woman laying on bed with red and yellow gel lightsGetty Images As of last week, prolonged grief disorder, officially became a new diagnosis in the latest edition of the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":505,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1397877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/505"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1397877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1397877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1397877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1397877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1397877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}