WHO recognizes prolonged mourning disorder as a disease

Celia suffers from an prolonged mourning disorder. Nevertheless, The WHO recently considers this state as an evil in itself. However, votes amount to too high an increase in diagnoses.

Stephanie Schnydrig / ch media

Celia Healy-Knight sits in her office while we convert by zooming. Moreover, “Can I show you a photo of who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new Matt?” She asks immediately. Meanwhile, She brandished a photo of her late husband in who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder front of the camera. However, We see him singing in a small club in the corner of the street. Meanwhile, “He was like that,” she describes, “always happy, full of life”. For example, Music was their common passion.

A thunderbolt – Who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder – Who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new

Matt had a good lifestyle, a vegan diet and he was running half-marathons. Furthermore, But suddenly, he fell ill. Similarly, A prostate tumor spread to the rest of his body. Furthermore, Only a few weeks have passed between the diagnosis and its death. Moreover, Healy-Knight tells. Furthermore. Consequently, moved:

In December who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new 2022, they were married one day before his death. Therefore, She without hairstyle or makeup, he in her hospital bed, covered with cables and pipes. Furthermore, In who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder addition, The following night, he made an important internal hemorrhage and lost consciousness. Furthermore, He never woke up again. For example, Matt was 47 years old.

Celia then sold their house and moved to another city. Consequently, The memories were doing too much. Similarly, Impossible for her to continue working as a psychotherapist. Therefore, She tried to resume six months later, but, with hindsight, it was still too early. In addition, She no longer slept, was assaulted with invasive memories in which she saw her husband and cancer again. Therefore, She rummed her guilt:

A research. a new diagnosis – Who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder – Who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new

In December 2024. Celia Healy-Knight discovers on the Internet a study on prolonged mourning disorders (TDP). The Oxford Center for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma (Oxcadat) recruits participants to measure the effectiveness of new online psychotherapy. She registers because she considers that it is not normal not to have taken over two years after the. loss of Matt.

In addition, we have recently recognized officially prolonged mourning disorder as a mental illness. It has integrated the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases (CIM). the largely recognized dictionary of medical diagnoses of the World Health Organization (WHO).

This who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder list allows doctors. researchers and health authorities to generally adopt the same language in terms of diagnostics, therapies and statistics. It also serves to charge medical services.

3% of bereaved concerned – Who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder

CIM has existed for 125 years. it must be regularly revised as medicine progress. The largest new products in the repertoire currently concern mental disorders mainly. For example, we no longer take transgender people for mental patients, the “sexual identity disorder” who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new is now called “sexual incongruity”. And the number of diagnoses is generally increasing.

Among recently recognized pathologies: hypersensitivity to its own smell, compulsive sexual disorders and, precisely, prolonged mourning disorder.

Concretely, the latter describes Intense and lasting mourning that goes beyond what the social norm designs. It also seriously complicates everyday who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder life. According to studies, around 3% of bereaved people develop a prolonged mourning disorder. Celia Healy-Knight is one of them.

L’Diagnostic wandering, A disorder in itself

Clare Killikelly is assistant professor at the University of Zurich. She participated in the validation of the new diagnosis. She and her team have just described in detail the disorder in question in the medical journal Lancet. The expert is now interested who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new in migrants who, in addition to a close person, have lost their country of origin.

Due to her clinical approaches, she knows what it causes When you can’t put a name on mental suffering.

Before official recognition. it would have who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder been wrongly put together many people affected in the depression category. And they would have been prescribed antidepressants, “while these drugs have absolutely no effect on the symptoms of this disorder”.

“Mentality of victim»

However. the tendency which consists in “stamping the seal of the disease” more and more ordinary human feelings is not unanimous. Marcus Roth, professor of differential psychology at the who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new University of Duisburg-Essen, is skeptical. According to him. the pathological notion is wrongly continued to expand:

He believes that one cannot, for each individual experience, conclude that yet another mental disorder.

This is sometimes simply an attempt to who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder take advantage of: “When the environment is established. the environment is automatically pointed out,” he said. Parents will for example use a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) to explain to their child why he. cannot concentrate. and the school must ensure that the child is supported accordingly.

According to him, this evolution is reflected in the growing number of discovered disorders. The American Allen Frances. professor emeritus at who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new the University of Duke. even speaks of a “hyperinflation of psychiatric diagnoses” and a development which promotes “victim mentality”. In his bestseller Saving Normalhe pleads for a return to the standards.

The Zurich psychologist Clare Killikelly also underlines that pain, frustration and helplessness are essential elements of life. She explains:

It remains decisive. according to her, to know the range of psychic charges, and to consider only pathological the most serious manifestations.

Diagnostic precipitate

The doctor adds that the problem does not necessarily come from the growing WHO list. but the who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new speed at which a diagnosis is made. Marcus Roth shares this opinion: a person without professional activity for a long period. who remains behind the company, or who neglects his basic needs really needs help Without requiring pathological labeling.

However, the solidarity -based health system is currently overloaded. “I am afraid that we are witnessing a return of a pendulum. ” says Marcus Roth, and that psychotherapy is hardly reimbursed for financial reasons. Individuals who would who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder suffer would be precisely those who need it most.

Instead of resolving everything by psychotherapy. the teacher therefore pleads more for “low threshold” offers: mutual aid groups, coaching, digital formats. It puts more on comforting support than on a precipitated diagnosis:

Another contemporary problem: the weakening of social relations, which played a key role in this context. And the expert to declare: “Psychotherapy cannot replace them.”

Not Bring everything on a diagnosis

At first, Celia Healy-Knight also wondered if her reaction was not, basically, normal. Other widows told him that it had taken them years to who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder regain foot. However:

She followed online therapy, combined with weekly telephone interviews with a specialist. On the program: Modules whose rhythm and content are appropriate individually. The objective: to who recognizes prolonged mourning disorder new unlock thoughts of thought. memories, for example by writing a newspaper or by exchanging with other people concerned via a messaging. “My best gift,” says Celia Healy-Knight. And conclude:

(Translated. adapted by Valentine Zenker)