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News Complicated Grief Needs Specific Treatment - Losing a Loved One is Not PTSD

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Dear Gizmo, I'm sorry, I so meant to say, you sooooooooooooo deserved compassion. I am so sorry you didn't get it. :cry:

((((((((Biggest of Bear Hugs)))))))), xoxoxoxox.
 
You know what I was thinking? I recall my dad getting pumped full of morphine- I mean, it was to a ludicrous extent (the last 1/2 to hour of his life). I recall I was the only one really privy, in that to the extent I was there all the time. A friend of mine who is a Top Researcher, and also knows the Hosp system well, said to me once- not doubting what I said but that my dad's liver was so shot he probably couldn't metabolize it.

But the truth is, I tried hard to not see the Hospital staff as having done that- to not be paranoid. At that time, my dad was in severe pain, but the thing was, I knew (also) he was physically tough as nails, and by no means was he 'out of it' or communicating that 'he' wanted to die, nor did he even say to make the pain stop. So in a small way, it was like murder. Even if it only shorted me/ my loved ones/ my dad one extra hour or one day. (My dad and all of us were under no misconceptions that it was down to days or hours, barring maybe a liver transplant-all of which we had found out (including his diagnosis) within about the 36 hours prior). And my sister was desperately trying to get home to see him, flew across the country 3 times and couldn't get in due to bad weather and at one point no clearance to land. She was about 12 hours too late.

When they gave him (yet another dose), he just about died in front of my eyes (I was the only one there, I'm pretty sure). I left him, came back to check him and even checked his breathing, (he was- barely), like an ass I left again and 10 minutes later they were telling us he was dead. And I was up 3 floors away playing the damn stupid piano there. :(

What's creepy was, in the last 4 days of my mom's life, 13 years later to almost the day, Hosp staff came to my sister and I and 'asked' if they could give my mom a lethal injection. First we couldn't belive it; by the 3rd time my sister said if they 'suggested' it one more time, " we would go to the police and newspaper, as Euthenasia was not yet legal (in our country)." Then they shut up and backed off. The scary part was, my mom was laughing, joking, in no physical pain, no complaints, doing crossword puzzles and eating cinnamin buns. And had all her marbles and complete acceptance of her iminent death on her part and ours. And she was 62. Scary stuff.

Thanks for letting me say all that. It was a big burden at 14.
 
Science always talks and shows proof of things. Sometimes, it doesnt work for everybody.
Mental health is still only crossing into the science stream. Science was not really the basis for mental health, though it is becoming so today due to the rejection of a lot of mental health matters raised today, with near little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims. Mental health is being forced towards a more scientific approach, thus mental health diagnosis is changing dramatically in relation to diagnosis. Mental health has been based very much on estimation of the persons presenting concerns, as one cannot prove / disprove a past experience. Instead, a physician has to have the ability to prove / disprove whether the client is lying or not.

This is what people miss. Symptoms overlap in many disorders. You can have all the symptoms of PTSD, however; not have PTSD. Symptoms are not a diagnosis made. Every single person needs to understand that statement. Having symptoms does not mean you have a diagnosis. Symptoms are normal feelings and experiences to have within the normal scope of life, especially when faced with some occurrence within a life.

The DSM 5 would also likely not diagnose a person with PTSD due to the death of childhood friends, violent or otherwise, if you weren't present in the traumatic event itself, because at age 7 you could not have developed the complicated emotions for longevity friendships to meet the new DSM 5 criterion: "learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or close friend; cases of actual or threatened death must have been violent or accidental".

I say that because the childhood criterion for PTSD encompasses such aspects due to the age of the person, in that a child of 7 only has an emotional bond that strong to a primary caregiver, not another child... excepting siblings.

The DSM 5 is going to see the lack of scientific data remove many of the existing holes for interpretation, thus pushing people into diagnoses that are more befitting of the event.

The problem that diagnosing still has, which has no scientific basis yet applied, is the timelines assigned. That can shift a person from enduring grieving for the loss of their partner, into having PTSD, all because it took them longer than 12 months to recover. The true result though, is that they're still grieving, they haven't obtained PTSD.

The DSM and mental health diagnosis is only going to get more hardened, IMHO, due to the requirement of scientific data being forced upon the industry to begin proving some of the asserted claims made. That can only be a good thing IMO... as there are simply too many practitioners diagnosing every person who walks through their doors with something, because it is simply a business model. To treat, they must label. If the practitioners told clients they were having normal experiences and that symptoms are 60% likely to reside themselves in the coming months, they would have less business, thus an industry would come tumbling down.

The US capitalist model has literally monetised mental health into a state of disbelief.
 
(PS, I never thought I could stop my dad's death, but he died alone. Maybe that's why S, and therefore dying alone, is my own 'payback' and seems just 'right').

Ugh. Thank you. I am sorry I don't want to monopolize this thread. More than I've ever said in 30 years.

God, I hope no one is triggered, that was selfish.:(

I'm so sorry, but thank you (((((Hugs))))).
 
Yes, I agree that Mental Health is a business, it's an industry and some people are able to 'doctor shop' until they find one person that will tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. You can almost hear the 'ca ching' in many cases.

The DSM 5 will certainly tighten up diagnosis, but only for the mental health professionals that care to do their job properly. There will still be those that chose to make diagnosis of PTSD based upon 'some symptoms' that seem to fit, not on the trauma event that occurred, or based upon what the client 'wants' to hear - all for money. It's good business to have a ongoing client that doesn't want to hear the truth and won't get better. Lots of 'ongoing' therapy = lots of money.

And there are those mental health professionals that believe their couple of years education in mental health gives them a basis to be 'better' and know more than the leading psychiatrists in the world. Lots of ego's involved too. Plus basically most mental health professionals are just no where near educated enough to actually make correct diagnosis. That unfortunately won't change either.

So, until science is truly able to appropriately, fully and reliably contribute, I don't see that the situation will change much.
 
Losing a parent the day after your life threatening trauma can feel a bit like a cross between PTSD and complicated grief I think. One can lose a parent in many ways. The powerful emotions of losing a parent not through death the day after a trauma can make it almost seem like death I think.

The powerful emotions after a trauma can make everything not just loss seem like complicated grief.
 
I am probably coming at this from limited experience and knowledge but from my perspective the main benefit of accurate diagnoses is that more accurately aimed treatment will ensue. I would have thought that very few people find themselves in therapy in the first six months after an event of any type but maybe that is because of my own experiences and possibly as I live in the UK and cultures differ. I would also think that anyone distressed enough to seek therapy would need it regardless of if they have PTSD, CT or depression (etc, etc. etc). I am under the impression that people wanting diagnoses for monetary gain would be rare but again am not in the know.

In my personal experience the biggest waste of money was from having bad therapy or therapists that were not knowledgeable in what I needed. I have had a very long term eating disorder, body dysmorphia (true BD unrelated to weight) etc, etc so a lot of the therapy I have therefore had has been for these reasons. Since I had almost zero self awareness and was dissociated out of my skull (without knowing it and was apparently good at hiding it) I certainly was not able to guide anyone in what I needed. It has taken me thirty years to get to where I am. One of the things I am getting at is that I imagine there are many with PTSD who don't get diagnosed for a long time or ever. And that goes for other conditions too.

If the practitioners told clients they were having normal experiences and that symptoms are 60% likely to reside themselves in the coming months, they would have less business, thus an industry would come tumbling down.
The US capitalist model has literally monetised mental health into a state of disbelief.

What comes to mind is that the industry certainly does not only deal with PTSD. I am sure it is a small percentage of what is dealt with in T. I am not an expert so am very open to being corrected.

I would also have thought that majority of therapists don't focus on diagnoses and rather concentrate on therapy. Personally I think diagnoses can be very helpful but many don't want to be labelled or to label.

In fact, from my conversions with others, it seems that many therapist's are now anti-label. I found myself on the wrong end of such a therapist which was damaging but I know for others they find it a helpful approach.
 
the main benefit of accurate diagnoses is that more accurately aimed treatment will ensue.

In my experience the biggest waste of money was having bad therapy or therapists that were not knowledgeable in what I needed.

I agree that correct diagnosis is absolutely required. Correct diagnosis needs to be with someone fully educated and experienced in diagnosis of trauma related mental health illnesses. Otherwise correct treatment cannot be given.

And mental health is absolutely a money making industry. That will always mean that often clients best interests are not always met.

There will be people with PTSD who have not been diagnosed correctly, either through not seeking help, or seeking inappropriate help. But there are just as many people who have wrongly been diagnosed with PTSD. It is a very over diagnosed illness. Often as soon as a therpist or doctor hears the word 'flashback' they assume PTSD. Even the term flashback is used incorrectly, more often it's just memory recall.

Correct diagnosis is vital to any mental illness.[/quote]
 
Hi Shellbell,

I guess my opinion is scewed by never coming across anyone with a PTSD diagnoses (as far as a I know) and also coming across many people who should obviously be in therapy but aren't. This is probably much affected by me never discussing my mental health with anyone ever.

I also have a friend and a good few clients who are T's and have open conversations with them and they are the least money driven people I know but that could be chance. My opinions are influenced by my direct experiences in life which is obviously very limiting. You seem to have more knowledge though so I am open to that.

I have no doubt that if I had been properly diagnosed early on I would have had much better help and that goes for more than PTSD.
 
I agree that correct diagnosis is absolutely required. Correct diagnosis needs to be with someone fully educated and experienced in diagnosis of trauma related mental health illnesses. Otherwise correct treatment cannot be given.

And mental health is absolutely a money making industry. That will always mean that often clients best interests are not always met.

There will be people with PTSD who have not been diagnosed correctly, either through not seeking help, or seeking inappropriate help. But there are just as many people who have wrongly been diagnosed with PTSD. It is a very over diagnosed illness. Often as soon as a therpist or doctor hears the word 'flashback' they assume PTSD. Even the term flashback is used incorrectly, more often it's just memory recall.

Correct diagnosis is vital to any mental illness.

I agree I went primary undiagnosed for a long time and it has caused havoc in my life. They have not given me proper psychotherapy nor psychiatry for any length of time and now I am at my wits end. I can't find a good provider who takes my insurance now that I am going in and out of dissociation either. I truly believe I am a victor over my issues as I have sought out much help, but my issues are health and emotional so... It would be nice if providers really specialized in this area. I would like to go to school just to help people like us. Family and friends don't understand... how real this is. Thank you!
 
To add I had a fiance fall dead on me and a best friend, animals and my ex brother in law, and soooooo much more in such a short time I still feel like I am scatter brained and lost. I feel I live in fear due to several years of stalker and abusive people... But I am a victor I will get through this. I lost my carreer to health issues and divorce... I need to find a way to help others because of the shoes I have walked in and I pray for everyone else out there that has problems, if I had a magic wand... I would....
 
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