Complicated grief is a form of grief where the bereaved becomes trapped in a cycle of intense grief, unable to process the death of a loved one. It affects up to 10% of people and can lead to severe depression and maladaptive behaviors. Psychotherapy and bereavement groups can help.
Complicated grief is a form of grief in which the grieving becomes, in a sense, blocked, unable to process the death of a loved one. While grief is a completely natural and normal response to death and takes many different forms, complicated grief is a cause for concern because it traps the bereaved in a cycle from which she or he cannot break free. Studies of this form of extreme grief suggest that up to 10 percent of people may experience complicated grief following the death of a loved one, and the circumstances of the death can have an impact on whether or not complicated grief occurs. Grieving history can also make a difference.
Those who experience complicated grief are thrust into a very intense form of grief that is accompanied by frequent and intrusive thoughts about the dead. This can include hallucinations in which the bereaved think the deceased is still alive. This form of grief may be accompanied by severe depression, including suicidal thoughts, and the bereaved may feel deeply alone, uninterested in life, and unable to participate in daily activities.
A sense of nostalgia for the dead is also often present. While people in complicated mourning are aware on some level that their loved one is dead, death is difficult to process and the bereaved may cling tightly to memories of the dead. In fact, in brain imaging studies of people who experienced complicated grief versus people who experienced healthier grief, researchers noted that the brain’s reward centers activated when people experiencing this form of grief thought about dead, suggesting that the brain is in part encouraging the bereaved to cling to the dead.
Someone experiencing this form of grief may experience personality changes, may be unable to return to work, school, and a social life after death, and may be at risk for maladaptive behaviors. Psychotherapy can help bereaved people explore and process the death, working through it instead of getting stuck in a pattern of grieving. Another thing that can help with complicated grief is a bereavement group.
It’s important to recognize that people grieve in different ways, and that a person’s emotions in the days immediately following the news of a death don’t necessarily predict complicated grief. People also experience lingering pain as they process a death for weeks, months and years, and this is completely normal and healthy. In complicated grief, however, someone seems to be stuck in the state they were in right after the news of the death, experiencing unusually intense emotions and moods.
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