Grieving May Soon Be Classified As Form Of Depression

Grieving May Soon Be Classified As Form Of Depression - Grieving the loss of a friend, family or loved one may soon be considered a form of depression. While many doctors acknowledge that grief is a very normal part of losing someone close to us, they also acknowledge that it’s important to deal with that grief.

Speaking to the New York Times one doctor explains why turning grief into a depression diagnosis could end up hurting those people suffering from some for of grief.

“This would pathologize them for behavior previously thought to be normal.” says one doctor.

Opponents to the diagnosis also say to could lead many people with short term grief receiving drug treatments that would normally be unnecessary outside of depression symptoms.

Supporters of the bill say it’s not about misdiagnosing patients but rather helping those people who’s grief has become debilitating. In those cases doctors argue that many grief stricken people don’t get help because they are told their extreme cases of grief are “normal” and therefore require no treatment.

Under the current definition/criteria for depress doctors have listed such cases as sleep loss, loss of concentration and other signs, however grieving was never included.

If approved the new diagnosis would appears in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Also under consideration would be a tightening of the definition of Autism, a disorder many doctors now believe may be prescribed too often for children who are just socially awkward or still developing but at a slower pace then peers of the same age.

Do you think the act of grieving should be diagnosed as a form of depression or have doctors taken the definition too far outside of it’s original diagnosis? ( inquisitr.com )