Risk Factors
Medical research has not identified what causes complicated grief or who may be more susceptible. However, there are some established situations where a person is more likely to develop prolonged grief. These include:
- An unexpected or especially violent death
- Lack of a support system – either family or close friends
- Suicide of a loved one
- Childhood separation from parents or loved ones
- Dependent relationship with the deceased loved one
- History of childhood abuse or neglect
- Being unprepared for the loss
- Experiencing multiple losses within a short period of time
These factors may indicate a situation where prolonged grief can occur. However, some people will not experience prolonged grief even when they are exposed to one or more of these situations. The best way to diagnose complicated grief is to carefully monitor your loved one and make sure that the symptoms of grief subside over time.
Symptoms
As mentioned previously, the initial symptoms of complicated grief are similar to those of normal grief. For the first few months, normal grief and complicated grief are often indistinguishable. The difference occurs because the symptoms of normal grief begin to disappear over time while the signs of complicated often linger or worsen.
Other signs of chronic grief include:
- Obsessive focus on the loss or on reminders of the lost loved one
- Intense yearning for the deceased
- Numbness or detachment from the outside world or from inner emotions
- Preoccupation with personal grief
- Bitterness or anger
- Inability to find pleasure in life
- Depression
- Inability to carry out normal routines
- Lack of trust in others
- No motivation to attend social events
- Feeling that life has no meaning or purpose
