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So when exactly do you pathologize a normal human process?
I have been thinking quite a bit about this recently because I remember, as the second anniversary of my wife's death approaches, a time where I was sitting in a conference about nothing particularly interesting, at least not to me, and surfing on my smartphone, which is what most bored conferees do. For some reason I happened to alight on a heated debate between psychiatrists about removing the 'Bereavement Exclusion' from the diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, and since my wife was already dying of the cancer which would kill her...had in fact less than a year to live . . .I thought the topic had some relevance to me. And since this is the forum where we all explore our grief, and our response to it, I suspect it has relevance to everyone here as well.
And now the DSM-5 is out, and the so-called bereavement exclusion is indeed gone. This gets us thinking what do we mean by the terms grieving and depression anyway?
Welcome, fellow travelers on the grief journey
and a special welcome to anyone new to The Grieving Room.
We meet every Monday evening.
Whether your loss is recent, or many years ago;
whether you've lost a person, or a pet;
or even if the person you're "mourning" is still alive,
("pre-grief" can be a very lonely and confusing time),
you can come to this diary and say whatever you need to say.
We can't solve each other's problems,
but we can be a sounding board and a place of connection.
Unlike a private journal
here, you know: your words are read by people who
have been through their own hell.
There's no need to pretty it up or tone it down..
It just is.
