What is Prolonged Grief Disorder?

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What is Prolonged Grief Disorder?

By: Aricia Stefanakys

After the death of a close relative or significant other, feelings of grief typically begin to lessen after 6 months.  However, for some individuals, these feelings persist or even worsen as they struggle to adjust to life without their loved one. This condition is known as Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), also referred to as complicated grief. It is more likely to occur in individuals who have lost a child or partner, particularly when the death is sudden or traumatic, such as in cases of suicide, homicide, or accidents. More recently with the COVID 19 pandemic, it has contributed to an increase in PGD in individuals.

People who experience PGD have intense feelings of longingness, anger, bitterness, and sadness over the person that has passed away. According to the APA (2022) they may also experience:

  • Intense longing over the deceased individual
  • Identity crisis and feeling although as they have lost a part of themselves
  • Difficulty accepting the person has passed
  • Avoidance of any reminders that remind them of the loss
  • Emotional detachment or numbness
  • Intense feelings of anger, bitterness, or sorrow
  • Difficulty finding meaning in life after the loss
  • Difficulty reintegrating into society and avoid making plans to see or talk to friends and family

In some cases, people with PGD may engage in harmful coping mechanisms such as self-harm and substance abuse. They may even consider committing suicide.

Although PGD can manifest in anybody regardless of age, gender, or culture, it’s more commonly diagnosed in women. Additionally, PGD is more likely to show up in people with pre-existing mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD.

Children who have PGD may exhibit slightly different symptoms including:

  • Expecting/waiting for  the deceased person to come back
  • Ask to visit the place where they last saw them
  • Developing  separation anxiety
  • Fear that others close to them will die.
  • Feelings of intense sadness

Treatment for PGD often includes Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (PGDT), which focuses on improving emotional regulation, attachment, and cognitive processing. Other approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy, may also be effective.

PGD was recently included in the DSM-5-TR, and research is still ongoing. Future considerations include the role of sociocultural factors and how they influence the grieving process and coping mechanisms after the loss of a loved one.

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If you or someone you know may be struggling with loneliness, or their mental health, please contact our psychotherapy offices in New York or New Jersey to talk to one of our licensed professional psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, or psychotherapists at Arista Counseling & Psychotherapy. Contact our Paramus, NJ or Manhattan, NY offices respectively, at (201) 368-3700 or (212) 722-1920 to set up an appointment. For more information, please visit http://www.counselingpsychotherapynjny.com/

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