Is Grief a Mental Disorder? No, But it May Become One!

Coping with grief and loss has different ways of processing in terms of both time and methods which why it is important for the person in grief to be aware of all methods of getting over a loss.

Complicated Grief

In some occasions due to various reasons, the person in grief either ignores the grieving process or delays it and the “normal grieving” process does not happen; mostly this happens to a caregiver who has been taking care of a loved one for a long time which increases the risk of committing suicide this type of grief is called “complicated grief”. Here are some symptoms:

• Blaming the person’s death on their selves and wishing to die
• Feeling life is meaningless and losing touch with purpose of life
• Not accepting one’s death and continue grieving for a long time

The loss of a child is one of the hardest things parents could go through which is why this type of grief is expected to take longer and slower processing time which can affect the family’s relationship towards each other. it is important that each family member has the time and respect to get over the loss in their own selective way and if needed, seek professional help so that the family members could understand the importance of getting over a grief and showing emotions and be patient and gentle with each other.

Coping with loss

Aside from getting professional help, it is important to accept someone’s death and try to move on from it, here are some tips:

• Show emotions and stop pressuring and judging how to feel.
• Find people to talk to so that the emotions can be expressed using words.
• Avoid making major life decisions while in grief and be patient.
• Staying healthy physically.
• Do something creative such as art craft, writing and etc

While these tips are useful, it is also important how to respond to someone who has experienced loss of a loved one. For example;

What to say

• Use the word “died” as an invitation to talk about the unfortunate event.
• Offer support and express your concerns such as “tell me what can I do for you?” or “I’m not sure what to say…”
• Don’t assume you know how they feel so be genuine.

What to do

• Be there to show support by listening and showing that you care.
• Offer help running errands such as shopping, cleaning…
• Avoid showing empathy or discouraging them from grieving.

In case of drug and alcohol abuse look for Professional help and in case of suicide call 911.×