The Distortion of Grief
According to the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, grieving the loss of a loved one can be considered depression after only two weeks. The implication that mourning should be fast and efficient is both disturbing and unnecessary.
CHICAGO – How long does it take to mourn the death of a loved one? The question is peculiar, even mildly offensive. Recovery from bereavement is a personal process that varies significantly among individuals. While it could take months to surface, grief – in its many forms and at various levels of intensity – remains a natural response to loss.
But the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), deems invalid the long-accepted understanding of bereavement as a highly individual and unpredictable experience. The updated manual advises psychiatrists and general practitioners that two weeks is an appropriate interval for grief. After that, depression supposedly can be diagnosed.
In other words, doctors can – and should – be able to distinguish grief, a normal response to loss, from depression, a mental disorder, after just 14 days, when most people would still be coping with the initial practicalities of a loved one’s death. The implication that mourning should be fast and efficient is both disturbing and unnecessary.
CHICAGO – How long does it take to mourn the death of a loved one? The question is peculiar, even mildly offensive. Recovery from bereavement is a personal process that varies significantly among individuals. While it could take months to surface, grief – in its many forms and at various levels of intensity – remains a natural response to loss.
But the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), deems invalid the long-accepted understanding of bereavement as a highly individual and unpredictable experience. The updated manual advises psychiatrists and general practitioners that two weeks is an appropriate interval for grief. After that, depression supposedly can be diagnosed.
In other words, doctors can – and should – be able to distinguish grief, a normal response to loss, from depression, a mental disorder, after just 14 days, when most people would still be coping with the initial practicalities of a loved one’s death. The implication that mourning should be fast and efficient is both disturbing and unnecessary.