Mental Health: Recognizing Distress and Seeking Aid for Depression and Grief
Mary Orozco, a resident of Manhattan, was left devastated when she received the news of her ex-boyfriend's tragic death. As she crumpled up under a staircase and started sobbing, the world around her seemed to blur.
This intense reaction was reminiscent of depression, a serious and potentially life-threatening disease affecting 16 million Americans at some point in their lives. However, it was a case of prolonged grief, a condition that shares some overlapping symptoms with clinical depression but has distinct features.
Prolonged grief, also known as prolonged grief disorder (PGD), centers on persistent and intense separation distress and difficulties accepting the loss of a loved one. Mary experienced a "sense of unrealness" about her ex-boyfriend's death, persistent yearning, and impaired integration of the loss into her autobiographical memory.
Unlike clinical depression, which is characterized by a persistent depressed mood, anhedonia, feelings of worthlessness, guilt, fatigue, and disturbances in sleep and appetite, Mary's sadness gradually eased over time during her grief, unlike untreated depression which only got worse.
During a depressive episode, the cycle of negative thought reinforcement can compound symptoms. Those with depression can have thoughts of suicide or self-harm, trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much, feelings of hopelessness, and move or speak so slowly that others notice, or be so restless that they move around a lot more than usual.
Mary did not feel that her self-worth was at stake during her grief, unlike during depressive episodes. She took the E train to St. Patrick's Cathedral and sat in a pew after receiving the news. A young man asked if she was okay after he saw her sobbing on the subway platform. He squeezed her arm and expressed his condolences for her loss.
However, Mary did not tell him about her ex-boyfriend walking into the ocean or that she had let his call go to voice mail the night before. This is a common coping mechanism during grief, where one may choose to protect themselves from further emotional pain.
Prolonged grief and clinical depression share some overlapping symptoms, but they differ primarily in their core emotional focus and specific features. PGD is specifically related to the bereavement context and can persist beyond the expected cultural norms of grieving. Clinical depression, on the other hand, is more likely to disrupt overall functioning broadly and typically lasts longer without treatment.
Treatment for both conditions can help manage symptoms and make it easier to process grief. Certain insurance providers offer alternative or supplementary treatments like acupuncture, nutritional counseling, or light box therapy. Counseling, medications, and non-invasive treatments like TMS therapy are also available for clinical depression.
In conclusion, while prolonged grief can share symptoms like sadness and avoidance with clinical depression, its hallmark is a persistent difficulty accepting the loss and separation distress coupled with a unique sense of unrealness about the death. Clinical depression involves a more generalized and persistent depressed mood and anhedonia, often without a direct or exclusive link to bereavement.
In the realm of science and health-and-wellness, treatment-resistant depression, a challenging form of clinical depression, can last longer without treatment and may require specialized approaches. Unlike treatment-resistant depression, prolonged grief, a mental-health condition characterized by persistent and intense separation distress, can persist beyond the expected cultural norms of grieving. Both conditions can impact one's mental health, and appropriate treatments, including counseling, medications, and alternative therapies, can be beneficial for managing symptoms.
