Prolonged Grief Finally Gets Its Own Diagnosis

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March 21, 2022 — At a time when many people are facing extreme loss and pain, the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual now includes a new disorder: prolonged antidepressants, but their grief remained high. About 4% of bereaved people remained “stuck and miserable” and continued to struggle for a long time.

In 2010, the American Psychiatric Association proposed expanding the definition of depression to include grieving people, which sparked backlash and concerns about overdiagnosis and overmedication of patients.

Since then, researchers have continued to study grief, which appears to be distinct from and more closely related to stress disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Appelbaum, Prigerson, and others worked on guidelines that would distinguish normal grief from a disorder.

Under the DSM-5 definition, the diagnosis can be made a year after a bereavement. Measured at the 1-year mark, the newspaper reported, the criteria should apply to about 4% of bereaved people.