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Home > Mood Disorders > Grief Reaction
Reactive Depression

Grief Reaction

  • What is Grief Reaction?
  • What causes a Grief Reaction?
  • What are the Symptoms of Grief Reaction?
  • Frequently Asked Questions about Grief Reaction

What is Grief Reaction?

A grief reaction is a set of psychological and somatic (body) symptoms that results from extreme sorrow or loss. This sorrow is usually related to death of a family member or significant other. Psychological symptoms include sadness, anguish and feelings of discomfort, guilt, or anger. Depressive symptoms including hopelessness and helplessness are also common. Somatic symptoms, such as shortness of breath, restlessness, abdominal discomfort, muscular weakness, exhaustion and lethargy may occur. A normal grief reaction resolves in a few weeks or months. Appropriate adaptive behavior includes crying, grieving, and discussing the loss with family or friends. When the severity of symptoms becomes disabling, or the reaction lasts behind a few months, it becomes a “complicated” or “abnormal” or “pathologic” grief reaction. As we will discuss, this abnormal grief reaction and its associated maladaptive behavioral patterns, requires intervention from a mental health professional.


What causes a Grief Reaction?

A pathological grief reaction derives from a severe personal loss, such as the death of a family member, friend, or loved one. Psychological and somatic symptoms arise from prolonged bereavement for a loved one. A person may develop an abnormal grief reaction after a loss when they do not possess the appropriate coping skills, lack a family support system or turn to substance abuse or self-medication.


What are the Symptoms of Grief Reaction?

Symptoms of a grief reaction include extreme sadness and sense of loss, as well as traditional depressive symptoms such as hopelessness, worthlessness, and restlessness. Fatigue and insomnia may follow these feelings, leading to increased irritability or anxiety. Eating problems may arise, manifesting as significant weight loss or gain. Difficulty concentrating, making decisions or remembering things, as well as somatic symptoms such as pain, headaches, and gastrointestinal problems may also occur. Self-destructive behaviors can arise, such as drinking heavily, drug use, or even suicidal thoughts or actions.


Frequently Asked Questions about Grief Reaction

How is a Grief Reaction diagnosed?

A grief reaction is diagnosed on the basis of depressive symptoms temporally related to loss of a family member, friend or loved one. Symptoms of a grief reaction, unlike bereavement which is self-limited, last beyond a few months after the death. While bereavement involves coping skills and ultimately resolves with time, a grief reaction becomes prolonged, and may be associated with complicating factors such as substance abuse or self-medication.

What is the Prognosis for a Grief Reaction?

Grief reactions have an excellent prognosis. Treatment with psychotherapy and medication, when necessary, is extremely effective. Additionally, sleep and stress management, and psycho-education can help a person recover from a grief reaction.

What Complications can Slow Recovery?

Oftentimes a person with a grief reaction may lack motivation or energy to seek treatment. If they have been in treatment, they may be non-compliant with therapy or medication. This sabotaging behavior can slow or prevent recovery. Furthermore, substance abuse, including alcohol, marijuana or cocaine use, can further muddle a grief reaction. Self medication with anti-anxiety or pain medications is dangerous and prevents a person with a grief reaction from utilizing the proper coping skills and resources to recover.

How Can Friends and Family Help?

Family members, friends, or a spouse or loved one may be the best resource for a person with a grief reaction. They can help that person enter a treatment facilty, and provide daily support throughout therapy. Family members can also assist with monitoring medications or watching the affected person for danger signs of an exacerbation. They can also help them reach their treatment appointments and their pharmacy.

When Should a Client enter a treatment center?

When bereavement becomes pathologic, and symptoms of a grief reaction are negatively impacting daily school or work life or personal and family relationships, an intensive treatment program should be considered. Even if a person with these depressive symptoms is in weekly therapy or on medication, persistent or debilitating symptoms may need to be addressed with a more immersive treatment option, such as a treatment center.

How does PCH Treatment Center treat a Grief Reaction?

PCH Grief Reaction Treatment Center has extensive experience dealing with Clients with depressive symptoms characteristic of a grief reaction. Upon entrance, a person with a grief reaction is assigned a doctoral level therapist, who performs an initial evaluation. During this assessment, incorrect labels or diagnoses are discarded. An evaluation is also performed by our Psychiatrist, Dr. William Wirshing. His goal is to optimize each Client's medication regimen, minimizing usage as much as possible. His philosophy is in concert with the PCH Grief Reaction Treatment Center goal of keeping the mind and body in balance with holistic treatment. Additionally, each Client is overseen by Dr. Jeff Ball, the Executive and Clinical Director, and their case is discussed at a weekly conference, where input is obtained from multiple doctoral level therapists. Individual psychotherapy is the foundation of treatment at PCH Grief ReactionTreatment Center. It is supplemented with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), anger management, sleep management group, psycho-education, neurofeedback and other modalities. Holistic therapies comprise yoga, meditation, acupuncture and massage therapy. They are important for recovery and healing, as well. Optional family therapy groups are also available. These valuable groups incorporate family members or significant others into the Client’s treatment environment.

 

 




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Grief Depression - When does grieving become abnormal?

It’s very painful to lose someone or something that you love. When an individual goes through a significant loss they experience many difficult emotions such as anger, guilt, sadness and shock. Sometimes it feels like these emotions will never go away. This can be overwhelming and frightening, although they are normal responses to grief.

Grief can be associated with many different types of loss. Of course the most significant grief is caused by the death of a loved one, but can also be caused by a breakup of an important relationship, the loss of a job, losing a pet or loss of health. The intensity of the grief is usually associated with the significance of the loss. Everyone grieves differently depending on their lifestyle, faith, coping mechanisms and personality. A grief reaction treatment center los angeles can help.

Although grief is experienced differently with each individual, there are certain common symptoms associated with normal grieving. These include shock and numbness immediately following the loss, sadness with crying along with feelings of despair, loneliness and emptiness. Many people also experience guilt about something they did or did not do and anger at doctors or perhaps God.

Grieving after a loss is normal, but as time goes by the symptoms of grief should subside, becoming less intense as the individual accepts the loss and begins to move forward with their life. If the feelings of grief become worse instead of better it could be a sign that grief has turned into something more extreme called complicated grief.

Complicated grief can be serious as it is a form of major depression. When individuals experience extreme symptoms of grief, they can become severe enough to interfere with everyday life. There may be symptoms such as intense yearning for the deceased person, feelings of emptiness or invading images or thoughts of the loved one.

For individuals who are experiencing symptoms of complicated grief a professional at a grief depression treatment center can help. A grief depression treatment center los angeles has trained staff that knows how to work with clients to get them through these difficult times. Often it helps just getting some support at a grief depression treatment clinic where an individual who is having difficulty letting go of the past can talk with a therapist about their feelings. This can help them heal from the grieving process and can prevent the process from turning into a more extreme condition.

Others with more serious depression often need more attention and treatment to heal from a loss. Choosing a grief depression treatment facility that treats all aspects of the depression from grief may be needed for individuals who are suicidal or have extreme feelings of hopelessness. Whether attending a grief depression treatment clinic as an outpatient or a grief depression treatment center with residence, trained professionals have the ability to properly access the client and offer the required treatments to provide the individual with the safety and comfort they may need to recover from depression brought on by grief and return to a happy, healthy life.

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