Personality Disorders Support Group
Personality disorders form a class of mental disorders that are characterized by long-lasting rigid patterns of thought and behaviour. Personality disorders are seen by the American Psychiatric Association as an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the culture of the individual who exhibits it.
I will need a professional's assistance with this question but if any of you have any information about this condition, I would appreciate your input. This is the situation...Fifteen year old female...infant brother dies at birth...she is then the only child of her parents. She spends the rest of her life grieving obsessively even after the birth of her own son who never receives the nurturing he requires because his mother is still absorbed by the death of her own infant brother and the dad is not around much. Is there a medical term for this life long obsession of grieving?
Understanding Prolonged Grief
According to Brewe, there do appear to be cases in which grief becomes chronic and debilitating without matching the symptoms of major depression disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or PTSD. Prolonged grief that does not fit one of those diagnoses is often called protracted, complicated, or traumatic grief.
Intense symptoms of grief in these cases often last more than 14 months and do not show significant improvement towards reduced grief," Brewer explains. "Complicated or traumatic grief is often distinguished by difficulty acknowledging the death of your loved one, or disbelief; continuing to act as though your loved one is still alive like setting a place for them at the table; and extreme distress from grief with little hope for the future.
Complicated or traumatic grief is often associated with feelings that life is empty or meaningless without the person who died. A person dealing with this type of grief will frequently have difficulty going about daily activities because of their symptoms.
Anyone struggling with this type of grief should seek help from a therapist who has experience working with grief and loss, and they would also likely benefit from a consultation with a physician or psychiatrist about their grief symptoms, Brewer says.
It is possible to get past grief and severe depression and start living again. Seek out support groups in your area your doctor or local hospital should be able to recommend one. And consult with your doctor about a referral to a grief counselor, therapist, or psychiatrist. Though you may feel alone, there are many people available to help you.