Is Grief a Mental illness?

Recently there has been a major change in how the Psychiatric Association will treat grief.

Below are two recent articles on the issue of whether grief is a mental illness or a normal part of life and death.  I’m including the links to the full articles so you can read and make up your own mind as to whether this is a move in the right direction or not.

Washington Post : Article by Associated Press, Published May 15

 Chicago— In the new psychiatric manual of mental disorders, grief soon after a loved one’s death can be considered major depression.

Those changes are just some of the reasons prominent critics say the American Psychiatric Association is out of control, turning common human problems into mental illnesses in a trend they say will just make the “pop-a-pill” culture worse.

The manual’s release comes at a time of increased scrutiny of health care costs and concern about drug company influence over doctors.

Read the full article at:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/is-grief-a-mental-illness-psychiatrists-critics-face-off-over-revised-diagnostic-guidebook/2013/05/15/cb6613fe-bd8d-11e2-b537-ab47f0325f7c_story.html

Washington Post :  Article by Tim Townsend – Religion News Service, Published: May 20

Psychiatry historically has refrained from calling normal grief a mental disorder. Since the last DSM was published in 1994, the guideline has been that when symptoms — sadness, distress, insomnia, trouble concentrating, lack of appetite — begin within two months of a loved one’s death, but do not persist beyond those two months, psychiatrists should not diagnose “major depressive disorder.” In earlier decades, psychiatrists waited a year before such a diagnosis.

The revision narrows that window to two weeks. So a person who has five of nine symptoms that define depression — regardless of the reason behind those symptoms — could be diagnosed as mentally ill.

Read the full article at:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/can-grief-be-a-mental-illness-with-new-diagnostic-changes-maybe/2013/05/20/901f801e-c189-11e2-9aa6-fc21ae807a8a_story.html

Children May Not Show Their Grief

Article by:  Catherine Johnston And Rebecca Nappi 

“Children grieve through short spurts and then may return to a normal activity,” said Deborah Hutton, a supervisor for chaplains with Providence Health & Services in Olympia.

When children resume their normal behavior patterns and activities, adults may mistakenly believe that the children are just fine, dismissing children’s need for grief support. This dismissal can leave them feeling sad, confused and acting out their feelings.

If your community does not offer a grief support group for children, consult Children’s Grief Education Association, www.childgrief.org, where you will find information on children’s grief responses, how to help and what to say, a support group locator and survivors of suicide information.

Your grandchildren may tell you how they feel or what they believe about the loss as they play with blocks, enjoy the outdoors or draw pictures. So pay attention.

“A child I worked with drew a picture of herself with a cord around her wrist. The other end of the cord reached up into the sky – heaven – where it wrapped around her mother,” Hutton said.

This is a great article to help us understand a child’s grief and for more information please go to : http://childgrief.org/childgrief.htm

Life Choices As A Widow

I used to feel that there were hundreds of life’s choices but once I thought about it I was surprised at just how few there really are:

Family
Fun
Health
Work
Life’s Purpose
Money
Relationships
Self-Image
Self-Growth
Travel

Almost all of my decisions will fall within one of these ten groups.  What I soon realized is that many of these life choices don’t require actual change but further knowledge or a change of perspective.

We cannot, for instance, change the loss of our husband.  We can only change ourselves and our reaction to the loss.

As widows clear thinking is hard to come by as we have been thrown completely off balance and into the unknown world of single life.

Flexibility is the ability to choose how we respond to our life events.  We need to be flexible so we can use clear thinking when we make decisions.

Clear thinking and flexibility don’t come naturally when you are widowed.  You have to seek out positive resources and work your way through the grief.  Don’t give up and get swallowed up in your pain.

Take control because it’s your life and it’s up to you to make the life choices that need to be made. What we change will switch us to balance, harmony and self-empowerment which in turn will result in a new life of accomplishment.