#prolonged grief disorder

[funeral]

Colin Murray Parkes, Bereavement: Studies of Grief in Adult Life

[prehistoricmancunt]

“Disenfranchised grief is grief that is minimized either by oneself or others. It’s grief we know– implicitly or explicitly, for real or perceived reasons–that we cannot openly express or acknowledge and is therefore hidden away from the world and ourselves.”

"Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) (also known as Complicated Grief) is a type of chronic mourning that falls outside of the typical grief experience. PGD is characterized by grief that is debilitating, unrelenting, and lasts for at least a year after loss has occurred."

Read my latest essay here!

[lovehealgrow]

What Is Prolonged Grief Disorder?

While grief is a natural human response to loss, prolonged grief disorder (PGD) signifies a long-lasting and intense feeling of grief that does not lessen with time or begins to impede one’s ability to perform daily tasks or responsibilities. This can make it extremely challenging for those who are suffering from a loss to continue their daily lives. Also, it can be incredibly hard on that individual’s loved ones who are seeing someone they care for continuing to suffer.

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) was recently added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It was included in the text revision of the DSM-5-TR in March 2022 after a two-year process of review and public comment on persistent bereavement.

Causes

Prolonged grief disorder, also called complicated grief, can occur after a loss of any kind — not just a death. This said, individuals commonly suffer from prolonged grief when they have lost a child or romantic partner or after a violent or abrupt loss — such as an accident or disaster.

While death is often the most likely cause of prolonged grief, it is not the only reason someone may experience PGD. Some other common causes of grief are:

Physical illness

Mental health concerns

Loss of a job

Change in financial stability, success, or status

Loss of a friendship or other relationship

Loss of mobility or independence

Near-death experiences

Natural disasters — including illnesses like the COVID-19 pandemic

Accidents

While PGD can occur after any type of loss — and in anyone who has experienced a loss — some individuals may be more at risk of suffering from this prolonged state of grief. This included those who have a history of depression or bipolar disorder and caregivers (especially if caring for individuals who had experienced depression before the loss). As mentioned earlier, people are also more at risk for prolonged grief when the loss happens under traumatic circumstances or abruptly.

Symptoms

As is true with normal grief, the particular signs or symptoms someone displays may differ dramatically from individual to individual. Everyone copes differently with challenges in life, and loss can be one of the most difficult challenges we face as people. Because of this, it is important to note that even if you (or a loved one) are not displaying the symptoms listed below, they may still be suffering from prolonged grief and simply displaying it in a different way.

With this in mind, some common symptoms of prolonged grief to look out for include the following feelings and behaviors.

Changes in everyday habits — such as sleeping and eating schedules and preferences

Persistent and intense feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, guilt, or helplessness

Fatigue or a chronic lack of energy and motivation

Trouble concentrating or completing tasks

Isolation or withdrawal from social gatherings or interactions

Doubt or questions about beliefs, identity, and world-view

Avoidance of reminders about the loss

Emotional numbness

A sense of disbelief about the loss

Difficulty moving on with life or re-integrating into the social world

Increased substance or alcohol use or other self-destructive behaviors

Suicidal thoughts or behaviors If you are having suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988

PGD may also commonly co-occur with other mental disorders — including depression, anxiety, or PTSD — and sleep problems or chronic poor sleep quality.

How Is Prolonged Grief Disorder Diagnosed?

As we noted earlier, grief is a natural human reaction to loss. And since we all process grief differently and in a different time frame, it can be hard to know when “normal” grieving is no longer “normal.” Thankfully, with the inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in the DSM-5-TR, there are better systems for mental health professionals and other healthcare providers to assess when this natural reaction has become prolonged grief.

Your healthcare provider or mental health professional will ask you questions about your grief and use your answers to rule out possible diagnoses like depression or PTSD before considering prolonged grief disorder. If your symptoms do not align with other conditions, your healthcare provider may diagnose you with prolonged grief disorder and help you work towards finding the right next steps for helping you cope with your grief.

How To Cope with Prolonged Grief

One of the most common treatment options and coping methods for PGD is seeking therapy. Now, starting therapy is a great step in your healing journey, but it can be quite intimidating at first. One of the most important things you can do to set yourself up for success as you learn to cope with and overcome your grief is to ensure that you are working with the right therapist for your needs. If you have met with a therapist that doesn’t quite seem like the right fit for you, do not hesitate to express this to them and look for another who may fit your needs better.

Once you have found the right therapist, you can begin working through your grief and building the skills you need to move forward in your life. In your sessions, you may discuss some or all of the following points with your therapist to help you effectively work through your loss in a safe and supportive environment.

The death of the loved one (or the loss of a relationship, job, or other important part of your life)

Unresolved problems, feelings, or issues you have surrounding the loss

Positive memories of what was lost — it is important to remember more than simply the negative side of something, even if it is no longer a part of your life

Current (and future) relationships and attachments

Healthy coping mechanisms and emotional regulation skills

So, if you are experiencing prolonged grief after a loss and feel you may be suffering from PGD, please do not hesitate to reach outto us today at Love Heal Grow to start working with one of our therapists.

[thecreativeshrink]

Grief & Mourning

[crystalsandbubbletea]

My trauma (Technically a vent post)

CW: Death threats, suicide mention, possible sexism, stalking, war, Islamophobia, racism, body shaming, kidnapping threat, Christianity, swearing, ableism, death

Never thought I would be making a post about my trauma yet here we are. I decided that I would divide this into parts.

My bully

I would say that it started around kindergarten, but according to my mom that doesn't count because I apparently lied about being bullied when I knew that I was being bullied, yet she didn't believe me because that bully was nice to her, so that meant he was an angel.

Instead, I'll just say it started around second grade.

In second grade, there was this new kid who moved, he wasn't in my class but we had a lunch and a recess together. I don't know why, but he decided to pick on me, he would constantly call me names. I dismissed it and thought that it wouldn't get worse.

I was wrong.

In third grade, he called me "Stupid and ugly" and even said that he bet I wasn't even related to my parents and that they only adopted me out of pity, and even said that he couldn't believe God allowed someone as ugly as me to live. I ended up crying to my parents about it and that's when they knew that this wasn't a normal case of bullying.

I should also mention that he would frequently stalk me at recess, and I would have to spend the entire recess hiding from him. I did have those few fortunate moments where he didn't seem to find me so I was able to enjoy my recess.

Things got even worse in fifth grade. He threatened to kidnap me, tie me up, throw me in the back of a car, then drive the both of us off a cliff.

I'm just glad he never knew about Enaya, I just know that he would have been terrible to her as well. Or maybe he did know about Enaya and I didn't know.

At some point he ended up going after another one of my friends and said "If you don't go on a date with me, I'll call the police!" And my friend responded with "They'll just arrest you, you creep."

Yeah, she didn't take shit from anyone, and I kinda wish that I could have been like her.

At some point, I was at a museum with my parents and siblings, and this museum had a planetarium, and I was hyped about it

Except guess who was there?

That goddamn blonde bastard, my bully.

He was being creepy to me the entire show, and I started crying at some point. I think at some point one of my siblings snapped at him and told him to leave me alone and that he just had a sad life, he just laughed in response and insulted them.

After the show ended, I told my parents that I didn't want to stay, and they understood, so we, along with my siblings, went home.

Note: Bully's parents saw what he was doing and enabled it, they said "Oh he just had ADHD" and "He just likes you! Just love him back!"

My parents and my fifth grade teacher (Note: This isn't very important but my mom and fifth grade teacher went to the same highschool together and had the same graduating class together, they were also good friends) did everything they could to make sure that I wouldn't get any middle school classes with him, except that backfired.

It wasn't just one class, nope, it was all of my classes. The principal knew how bad he was to me, and still decided that he would have the same classes I have.

My parents and fifth grade teacher bombarded the principal with a shit ton of emails, until the principal finally decided I would be the one getting a schedule change.

The reason? "[They] have ADHD and Autism, [they] would be too much for those teachers anyways."

Fortunately my sixth grade year wouldn't be as bad as elementary school, as the bully would move to another city. He was a different school system's problem now, so I ended up thinking that my middle school year would be great.

How wrong was I.

Enaya

I made a few posts about Enaya, even made a eulogy post once.

Anyways, Enaya was a very good friend of mine, she was Palestinian-American and the first Muslim friend I had. I remember seeing her around school and wanting to talk to her but really didn't until around either fourth or fifth grade during one of those fortunate recesses where my bully didn't stalk me.

It was that conversation between us that our friendship started.

She would tell me about Palestine, and Palestinians culture, and it interested me, but it also exposed me to how shitty the world was to Palestinians and Muslims.

I'm ashamed to admit it took me until sixth grade to realize that she was being bullied for being Muslim and Palestinian.

People called her a "Terrorist" and accused her of plotting another 9/11, they would even try to pull off her hijab.

Oh, and how could I forget? Those dumb fuckin' white girls who acted like they were feminists.

They said that she didn't have to wear her hijab at school, after all her father couldn't harass her for it, so she should just take it off. To say it made her uncomfortable would be an understatement.

I remember refusing to just watch those people harass her for her ethnicity and religion, and how I was told to "Piss off!" because it wasn't any of my business.

Fuck those guys, that was my friend, a friend that I now know that I loved as a sister, that they were harassing.

I remember her telling me that she had dreams of a free Palestine, and even said that maybe one day we could run through the cities of Palestine, or maybe even have Jaffa oranges.

To say I wanted that would be another understatement, I loved that dream, and needed it to become a reality.

I also remember that Enaya constantly talked about wanting to help people when she got older, and I told her that she would, and that I would also always be there to support her and that we would always be together forever.

I was wrong. Nothing lasts forever.

I was twelve, and it was after summer and the first day of school. I remember eagerly looking around for Enaya, as I wanted to know if we had classes together.

Instead her brother Soroush approached me.

That's when I found out that Enaya had killed herself.

He told me that there was a note left for me in her suicide note, and she had written "[Rian], I want you to know that there wasn't anything you could have done, and that I was very happy to know you, you were a great friend and I'm glad that you decided to talk to me that day. Please don't blame yourself, please continue to live and be happy not just for me, but for yourself as well."

How could I have not blamed myself? I felt, and still feel like, that if I had just been there more for her, if I had just fought harder for her, then maybe, just maybe, she would still be here.

I also felt bad for her family, her parents and brother were angels, and I can't imagine the hurt and pain they were going through because of Enaya's suicide.

I ended up trying to suppress her memory, acted like she didn't exist.

Until last year around November. That's when I realized that I hadn't forgotten her, after all, who did I base (one of) Alex's sister(s) off of? And who did I name that sister after? And what about her personality? And why did I ask her family if they would be fine with me basing a character off of Enaya?

And how else did I get my Prolonged Grief Condition and PTSD from? After all I was twelve.

Or maybe she was half of the reason, and the other half was my girlfriend.

Alina

I only recently talked about her, I didn't mention her name.

Alina was my girlfriend all the way in Ukraine. Her and I met on TikTok when we were both fourteen. We at first talked over DM's before deciding to give each other our Discords. And soon we were talking way more, even calling each other sometimes.

One day though, one of us confessed. I don't remember if it was her who confessed or if it was me. But I do remember that we were both very happy.

I remember that I would tell her about Ponca culture, and that she would tell me about Ukrainian culture, we even taught each other some words.

I also remember at some point we swore we would meet up when we were both eighteen in Seattle. I don't know why we picked Seattle, was it because we thought it would be romantic to run through the streets? Who knows..

Happiness doesn't last forever though.

February 24, 2022. I wake up in the middle of the night due to my phone buzzing from messages, and I saw that Alina wanted to talk to me. Not wanting to wake up my brother, I took my phone and walked into my bathroom. I asked Alina what was up, and she asked if she could call me. I said yes even though I was tired and had school in the morning.

That's when Alina told me that Russia had invaded.

I remember constantly praying to my gods and goddesses to spare Alina and her family. I was praying to my goddess of fate more though, after all, she had already taken Enaya from me, I didn't want to lose Alina as well.

Cue January 1, 2023, I ended up getting a call from one of our mutual friends, Faddei was his name. Faddei informed me that Alina and her parents were killed.

I don't remember much, but I remember that I was home alone, and that I hung up before dropping my phone and screaming and crying. I didn't tell my parents about what happened.

All those plan, gone...

I still haven't recovered from Alina, my first love..

... I wish I could post more, but I'm crying now..

Dammit, why do I still cry for those who are already dead..

[bioethicists]

Please note I have only taken a few psych classes cause I was required to in college, but I have always seen disorders in the DSM like adjustment disorder or prolonged grief disorder as something to get insurance to pay for therapy because at least my insurance in the US will only cover my therapy if I have a diagnosis... is that wrong though? Are they actually trying to make greif a pathology?

it's the other way around- the dsm (or diagnostics in general) does not exist/modify itself because of insurance, insurance bills based on the widespread belief in psychiatric research + practice that there is a meaningful split between "normal" and "pathological" behavior which can be categorized into illnesses which are meaningfully distinct both from one another + from "normality" (exemplified by the dsm).

even if some therapists no longer abide by this belief, it is still the dominant narrative in psychiatric research. insurance requiring you to medicalize your own pain in order to be given access to healing is a problem that should be addressed directly, not by inventing more and broader ways to be 'sick'. if we're literally inventing disorders now just to get people access to therapy- that's a huge problem + not something we should settle back into + accept. to its credit, even the icd (medical dx book for insurance) has codes that essentially mean "no illness or disease here, just a need to speak with a physician".

to be clear (which i think ppl were not getting from the post i made)- there is no grand conspiracy to like... cover up grief or delegitimize pp due to covid. i do think that researchers for prolonged grief disorder do genuinely believe that they are helping increase access to healing (which may be true but at the cost of medicalizing grief) + that identifying a 'disordered' form of grief is somehow empowering or healing for ppl. what it does is further construct a cold (western-based) narrative that there are 'normal' + 'abnormal' ways to experience grief, that there are forms or intensities of grief which are a sickness (that is, a problem within to be solved or cured), that there are right and wrong ways to grieve. it stems from such a myopic, medicalized, neoliberal view of the world that someone whose life is permanently altered by a devastating loss is seen as a disordered object to shift onto the 'proper' track of grieving.

at the risk of getting too personal, because i've been thinking abt this a lot since losing my brother- criterion for this disorder include identity disruption, intense emotional pain, loneliness, and difficulty reintegrating into life. one of the worst parts of grieving in the US is the culture's rabid obsession with you getting over it as soon as possible w/o letting it affect you in any meaningful way. you have to get out of the house, get back to normal, don't let it drag you down! my dad said to me the day after my brother died "we can't let this change the course of our lives". the absolute arrogance + cruelty of implying that it hasn't already changed. that my identity isn't forever changed because i was a sibling + now i am not. now i am something different. of course i am lonely. of course i am having difficulty reintegrating into life. of course i am in intense emotional pain. i wrote that post before losing my brother + now it just feels like another manifestation of the unspoken cultural mandate that grief be contained, efficient, unimpactful.

tl;dr the insurance benefits may or may not be there, but this misses the larger issue of how insurance functions this way due to psychiatry's obsession with diagnostics + will ultimately serve to draw even stricter boundaries around acceptable/unacceptable grief, isolating grievers + severing their pain from a communal context

[emohorseboy]

I'm so interested in all of your posts about mad liberation. I've never seen anything that puts my thoughts on the whole psych complex into words. I'm really curious to learn more about this. No pressure if not, but do you happen to know of any more comprehensive resources on this? Like books maybe?

Hi, I can definitely give you some recs! My list is a little bit UK centric because that's where I'm based but hopefully it's useful:

In terms of books:

I read 'Mad World: The Politics of Mental Health' by Micha Frazer-Carroll this summer and I can't recommend it enough.

I'm also making my way through 'Call Me Crazy: Stories from the Mad Movement' by Irit Shimrat, which I think is out of print but can be read as a PDF here (hopefully)

I've only dipped in and out of his books for my dissertation but Andrew Scull has written several well regarded books about the history of psychiatry ('Museums of Madness' is the one I've read bits of, 'Desperate Remedies' is on my TBR)

Some books on my TBR: 'The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease' by Johnathan Metzl, 'Drop the Disorder!', 'Searching for a Rose Garden: Challenging Psychiatry, Fostering Mad Studies', 'Anatomy of an Epidemic' by Robert Whitaker

Some really good articles:

'Abolition Must Include Psychiatry' by Stella Akua Mensah

'Mad Activists: The Language We Use Reflects Our Desire for Change' by Lisa Archibold

'Not a naughty child: people’s experiences of service responses to self-injury' by Alison Faulkner and Rachel Rowan Olive

More resources!

The Campaign for Psychiatric Abolition - UK based, they have a lot of really great resources including an extensive recommended reading list, a Psych Abolition 101 Zine, and a resource for making a crisis support plan.

Asylum Magazine - again UK based, radical mental health magazine. To read full issues you need to subscribe (I recently paid for a subscription for a year of digital editions for £10, physical copies are a bit more) but the website has plenty of articles that you can read for free so well worth exploring.

Psych Survivor Archive - US based this time, there is so much on here, the Psych Survivor Zine is the main event but they also have a really great resource list (some of the links are dead though).

Mad in America - publish a lot of really interesting and impactful stuff on their website, I also really like their podcast (particularly recommend this episode about ECT, this one about esketamine, and this one about 'prolonged grief disorder'). There is also Mad in the UK and a number of other country specific sites that exist as part of their Mad in the World Network.

Folks to follow:

Dolly Sen - UK based artist who does and is doing a lot of cool stuff, notably at the moment they are the lead artist for the Birdsong From Inobservable Worlds project. This podcast episode they did is also great.

Nicole / lacey_art_ - another UK based artist, she wrote a poem about a bird recently that I can't stop thinking about (she does a lot of other cool things too).

Rachel Rowan Olive - brilliant and funny artist, she is also on instagram and etsy.

Luna Tic - artist and activist who has been involved with a lot of really brilliant stuff, including the successful StopSIM Coalition here in the UK which managed to bring an end to SIM.

There are so many more I could name and so many more things I could recommend but this post is already so long! I really hope it was helpful. I started trying to be brief and then gave up but I did cut out a fiction and literature recs section because I thought that was overkill lmao. Thank you for giving me an excuse to make this list I had a great time.

Learning about the Mad and psych survivor movements has been so transformative and empowering for me and I could honestly talk about it all day. Please do feel free to send me a message if you want to chat about it more!

[mischiefmanifold]

Diagnostic Criteria Examples Masterpost

This is a series of posts that I'm hoping eventually covers all the disorders in the DSM-5-TR.

**This will be periodically updated as more posts are made. Please come back to the original post to see these updates**

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Intellectual Developmental Disorder (Intellectual Disability)

Global Develolmental Delay

Unspecified Intellectual Developmental Disorder (Intellectual Disability)

Language Disorder

Speech Sound Disorder

Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder (Stuttering)

Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder

Unspecified Communication Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (Levels System)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Other Specified Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Unspecified Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Specific Learning Disorder

Developmental Coordination Disorder

Stereotypic Movement Disorder

Tourette's Disorder [Tourette Syndrome]

Persistent (Chronic) Motor or Vocal Tic Disorder

Provisional Tic Disorder

Other Specified Tic Disorder

Unspecified Tic Disorder

Other Specified Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Unspecified Neurodevelopmental Disorder

SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM AND OTHER PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS

Delusional Disorder

Brief Psychotic Disorder

Schizophreniform Disorder

Schizophrenia

Schizoaffective Disorder

Substance/Medication-Induced Psychotic Disorder

Psychotic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Catatonia Associated With Another Mental Disorder (Catatonia Specifier)

Catatonic Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Unspecified Catatonia

Other Specified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder

Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder

BIPOLAR AND RELATED DISORDERS

Bipolar I Disorder [Includes criteria for manic episodes and major depressive episodes]

Bipolar II Disorder [Includes criteria for hypomanic episodes and major depressive episodes]

Cyclothymic Disorder

Substance/Medication-Induced Bipolar and Related Disorder

Bipolar and Related Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Other Specified Bipolar and Related Disorder

Unspecified Bipolar and Related Disorder

Unspecified Mood Disorder

Specifiers for Bipolar and Related Disorders

DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder

Persistent Depressive Disorder

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive Disorder

Depressive Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Other Specified Depressive Disorder

Unspecified Depressive Disorder

Specifiers for Depressive Disorders

ANXIETY DISORDERS

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Selective Mutism

Specific Phobia

Social Anxiety Disorder

Panic Disorder

Panic Attack Specifier

Agoraphobia

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Substance/Medication-Induced Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Other Specified Anxiety Disorder

Unspecified Anxiety Disorder

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE AND RELATED DISORDERS

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Hoarding Disorder

Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder)

Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder [Also called Dermatillomania]

Substance/Medication-Induced Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Other Specified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder

Unspecified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder

TRAUMA- AND STRESSOR-RELATED DISORDERS

Reactive Attachment Disorder

Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Acute Stress Disorder

Adjustment Disorders

Prolonged Grief Disorder

Other Specified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder

Unspecified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative Amnesia

Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

Other Specified Dissociative Disorder

Unspecified Dissociative Disorder

SOMATIC SYMPTOM AND RELATED DISORDERS

Somatic Symptom Disorder

Illness Anxiety Disorder [Hypochondria]

Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder (Conversion Disorder)

Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another

Other Specified Somatic Symptom and Related Disorder

Unspecified Somatic Symptom and Related Disorder

FEEDING AND EATING DISORDERS

Pica

Rumination Disorder

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Anorexia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa

Binge-Eating Disorder

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder

Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorder

ELIMINATION DISORDERS

Enuresis

Encopresis

Other Specified Elimination Disorder

Unspecified Elimination Disorder

SLEEP-WAKE DISORDERS

Insomnia Disorder

Hypersomnolence Disorder

Narcolepsy

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea

Central Sleep Apnea

Sleep-Related Hypoventilation

Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders

Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Arousal Disorders [Sleepwalking and Sleep/Night Terrors]

Nightmare Disorder

Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder

Restless Legs Syndrome

Substance/Medication-Induced Sleep Disorder

Other Specified Insomnia Disorder

Unspecified Insomnia Disorder

Other Specified Hypersomnolence Disorder

Unspecified Hypersomnolence Disorder

Other Specified Sleep-Wake Disorder

Unspecified Sleep-Wake Disorder

SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS

Delayed Ejaculation

Erectile Disorder [Erectile Dysfunction]

Female Orgasmic Disorder

Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder

Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder

Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Premature (Early) Ejaculation

Substance/Medication-Induced Sexual Dysfunction

Other Specified Sexual Dysfunction

Unspecified Sexual Dysfunction

GENDER DYSPHORIA

Gender Dysphoria

Other Specified Gender Dysphoria

Unspecified Gender Dysphoria

DISRUPTIVE, IMPULSE-CONTROL, AND CONDUCT DISORDERS

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Intermittent Explosive Disorder

Conduct Disorder

Pyromania

Kleptomania

Other Specified Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorder

Unspecified Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorder

SUBSTANCE-RELATED AND ADDICTIVE DISORDERS

Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol Intoxication

Alcohol Withdrawal

Unspecified Alcohol-Related Disorder

Caffeine Intoxication

Caffeine Withdrawal

Unspecified Caffeine-Related Disorder

Cannabis Use Disorder

Cannabis Intoxication

Cannabis Withdrawal

Unspecified Cannabis-Related Disorder

Phencyclidine Use Disorder

Other Hallucinogen Use Disorder

Phencyclidine Intoxication

Other Hallucination Intoxication

Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder

Unspecified Phencyclidine-Related Disorder

Unspecified Hallucinogen-Related Disorder

Inhalant Use Disorder

Inhalant Intoxication

Unspecified Inhalant-Related Disorder

Opioid Use Disorder

Opioid Intoxication

Opioid Withdrawal

Unspecified Opioid-Related Disorder

Sedative, Hypnotic, or Anxiolytic Use Disorder

Sedative, Hypnotic, or Anxiolytic Intoxication

Sedative, Hypnotic, or Anxiolytic Withdrawal

Unspecified Sedative-, Hypnotic-, or Anxiolytic-Related Disorder

Stimulant Use Disorder

Stimulant Intoxication

Stimulant Withdrawal

Unspecified Stimulant-Related Disorder

Tobacco Use Disorder

Tobacco Withdrawal

Unspecified Tobacco-Related Disorder

Other (or Unknown) Substance Use Disorder

Other (or Unknown) Substance Intoxication

Other (or Unknown) Substance Withdrawal

Unspecified Other (or Unknown) Substance-Related Disorder

Gambling Disorder

NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDERS

Delirium

Other Specified Delirium

Unspecified Delirium

Major Neurocognitive Disorder

Minor Neurocognitive Disorder

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Alzheimer's Disease

Mild or Major Frontotemporal Neurocognitive Disorder

Mild or Major Neurocognitive Disorder With Lewy Bodies

Major or Mild Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Traumatic Brain Injury

Substance/Medication-Induced Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to HIV Infection

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Prion Disease

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Parkinson's Disease

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Huntington's Disease

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Multiple Etiologies

Unspecified Neurocognitive Disorder

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

General Personality Disorder Criteria (Alternative Model)

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Schizotypal Personality Disorder (Alternative Model)

Antisocial Personality Disorder (Alternative Model)

Borderline Personality Disorder (Alternative Model)

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Alternative Model)

Avoidant Personality Disorder (Alternative Model)

Dependent Personality Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder [Anankastic Personality Disorder] (Alternative Model)

Personality Change Due to Another Medical Condition

Other Specified Personality Disorder

Unspecified Personality Disorder

PARAPHILIC DISORDERS

Voyeuristic Disorder

Exhibitionistic Disorder

Frotteuristic Disorder

Sexual Masochism Disorder

Sexual Sadism Disorder

Pedophilic Disorder

Fetishistic Disorder

Transvestic Disorder

Other Specified Paraphilic Disorder

Unspecified Paraphilic Disorder

OTHER MENTAL DISORDERS AND ADDITIONAL CODES

Other Specified Mental Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Unspecified Mental Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition

Other Specified Mental Disorder

Unspecified Mental Disorder

MEDICATION-INDUCED MOVEMENT DISORDERS AND OTHER ADVERSE EFFECTS OF MEDICATION

Medication-Induced Parkinsonism

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

Medication-Induced Acute Dystonia

Medication-Induced Acute Akathisia

Tardive Dyskinesia

Tardive Dystonia [and] Tardive Akathisia

Medication-Induced Postural Tremor

Other Medication-Induced Movement Disorder

Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome

Other Adverse Effect of Medication

[dsm--v]

Hey why are you the dsm-v and not the dsm-v-tr???

DSM-V-TR added prolonged grief disorder, unspecified mood disorder, and stimulant-induced mild neurocognitive disorder; it also changes the diagnostic criteria for of 70 conditions including adding clarification for the social deficit criteria in autism spectrum disorder!!!! Also added updated terminology!!!!

ive only been able to have a physical copy of the dsm-v due to books being real fucking expensive and me being a child with no money 😢

[beesmygod]

here's a really interesting article i read today about prolonged grief disorder, a new DSM addition, and how/why previous attempts to treat it failed.

i also like the part where they discuss how they treat it now and how its an affirming process. they've found that a combination of talk therapy, PTSD and stress related therapy (as opposed to depression), and an anti-addiction drug until you re-wire the pathways.

very interesting.

[kaurwreck]

you remind me of a time i wish i could go back to; a time in which i would obsessively read and keep reading about anything that interested me slightly. i would stumble into entirely new ways of thinking with all the delicacy of a bull in a china shop, and learn to engage with it on its own terms. the ability got lost somewhere in the haze that was school and uni and people and work and now i’ve… lost the ability to think on my own. it comes maybe twice a month, in random bursts, and i fucking hate that i don’t have access to it continuously anymore. i hate that now when i’m bored i can’t think up stories in my head and chew on ideas in my free time. i see you and i’m so happy and so envious; i wish for my thirst for life back. i’m so tired. i’m saying this to you because, of all people, might be able to see it clearly. i respect the fact that you managed to retain it to adulthood or beyond is so much. you don’t know how much that means to me, as a young adult.

If it helps, I don't read nearly as much as I did as a kiddo. Like, not even remotely close. Quite frankly, I've only recently gotten back into reading lit, after years of only reading comics and manga, and not nearly at the volume I did before.

But! There are all sorts of opportunities to engage with stories and ideas and reconnect the synapses that spit where they used to spark. Once, in the throes of a heavy and prolonged period of uncertainty, I was gripped by the color of spray paint on the sidewalk on the way to pick up an espresso while sleep deprived. I consciously chose to stop and appreciate it.

Which is to say, I also get exhausted and burnt out and go through periods where I wonder if I've lost some fundamental part of myself. But then I rest or I change my routine or I receive an affirmation I didn't realize I desperately needed, and my verve returns, as it does. I think having pediatric onset bipolar disorder has advantaged me in this regard because even when I feel like nothing, I know that the intensity will return, and that it will continue to ebb and flow like the tides. I used to dread the ebb, but the ebb has its own value, too; in the ebb is where I nurture roots.

But to my earlier point, there are lots of stories and ideas buried in all sorts of moments. We can imbue meaning in the things we do as an observed ritual until it becomes habit until it becomes sincere. And for the periods in which we can't, it's worth remembering that the winter solstice is the longest evening of the year, but the sun will come back because it always has. In the meantime, you can stoke a hearth and sip on coaxed together warmth while tucking into your memory this grief so that you will recognize what you've been missing when it returns, so that feeling excited is remarkable enough to cut the present ennui. In time, you'll start to feel substance in the contours of the grief, too, because to be exhausted and numb and tired means that you exist enough to be anything at all.

And, if you're too untethered from yourself for even that, find something mundane and look for a glimmer of anything worth observing. If you can't find anything, choose to give some facet of what you see meaning anyway.

(It's not that the sidewalk was purple. It's that I chose to see that it was that particular, beautiful shade of purple rather than remain adrift into my own ether and, in doing so, tethered my intangible enormity in something tangible enough for me to stoke while I weathered the season.)

If you practice enough, this becomes muscle memory. Same with thinking on your own. I don't think reading is ever enough on its own anyway; sometimes, we mirror ideas and mistake them for our own. Or we encounter ideas but don't allow ourselves to be changed by them.

It's why it's important to engage intentionally, and it doesn't have to be with text. It can be with movies, art, those around us, our environment, our own understanding of the world, the condensation on a window. Mindfulness helps, but so does adopting the mindset of a toddler and asking why? Constantly. Again, it may begin as a rote exercise, but the more you do it, the more it becomes muscle memory. If you think you know something, consciously stop and ask why? Where did you learn that? What assumptions does your conclusion rely on? Could there be another explanation? Pretend you're someone else for a moment, a favorite character or historical figure or loved one. What would they think given the same facts? Also important is saying, like a toddler, because I said so! as the only reason you need. Try things for the sake of having not tried them before. There's a reason why Lao Tzu advises being like a newborn baby, soft boned with a strong grip.

There's very little I do, read, watch, or consume that I don't think about applying elsewhere, too. This is sometimes exhausting. But it's also where I get my well of passion. Because there's always an opportunity for meaning, my life bursts with it.

This doesn't mean I don't still have rough weeks or months or years. I have bipolar, adhd, cptsd, and social phobia; I have frequent insomnia and sleep paralysis, etc. etc. But I look forward to what I might learn next, and there's purpose and intention to how I experience even my lows. The life I'm currently living is so unlike where I came from, in part because I decided I wanted meaning and purpose. Before I knew what that was supposed to look like, I picked a direction and strove for it, feeling out what I couldn't see. I still do, when necessary. It will always be necessary.

So, while I don't know if what works for me will work for you, I can promise that something will excite you again, eventually. Adulthood isn't a linear decline or a separation from yourself. It's variable and dynamic, and you have agency in what you do with that. There isn't any objective meaning or purpose to be assigned, so you get to choose it for yourself, and it can be as variable and dynamic as you need it to be. So, if you don't want to grow into someone who can't think on your own, you don't have to. If you don't like your current state of mind, you don't need to settle in it.

tl;dr: It's not what I've retained, it's that I've ebbed and flowed and changed, and given myself the space to clumsily stumble towards what I want and what I value, even if I'm not always sure what those are. I'm letting go of the construct that I have to be anything, and I emphatically choose not to be lots of things. It's a process, and it's nonlinear. But nothing is, and there's grace in the inevitably of ebb.

[prehistoricmancunt]

Do you have any thoughts / opinions on Prolonged grief vs “regular” grief. I’ve been diagnosed with prolonged grief disorder for a few months and it seems impossible to ever understand what regular grief feels like

Great question, dear. I'm really sorry you're struggling so much with your grief. As you know, but others may not so I'll say it for them, Prolonged Grief Disorder is grief that interferes with your every day ability to function that lasts for over 12 months, with intrusive thoughts about your person, expecting them to come back, ruminating etc.

I listened to an NPR piece recently that kind of discusses PGD vs not prolonged grief. (here) with those w PGD, a part of your brain is more activated, and for longer, than those without. So, while in those without PGD, with the average grief, it still hurts, of course it does, what you feel with pgd average grievers often only really feel immediately after a death, and then the grief is able to be integrated into our everyday life. The grief, mourning, sadness, etc is still there, but isn't so overwhelming as to stop daily functioning.

Disenfranchised grief (when something in society, or something internalized, makes us feel as though we are not allowed to/not safe to externalize our grief due to time frame, or cause of death for example), ambiguous losses (wondering 'is this really a loss?' or someone going missing for example), or sudden losses may make it harder to part from your grief, because it kind of gets stuck.

[godmerlin]

i massively over slept and almost missed my therapy appointment. i slept for 12 hours! UGH this depression is kicking my ass lately.

also she added the diagnosis "Prolonged Grief Disorder" to my chart I didn't even know that existed but apparently it does- i'm not surprised that she diagnosed me with it. I definitely trauma dumped on her today i was trying to explain why my nephew leaving is bothering me so much and it escalated lol

but like i feel like i need to properly post about it here because I feel like for the past month I've not been myself again and i feel distant even on here and for that i apologize

[pianokantzart]

I 100% fully believe if Mario ever did lose Luigi to death, even only temporarily, he would be absolutely catatonic, self destructive, and completely shattered.

Luigi would also be that way too cuz that’s his big brother and he adores him, but for Mario it would be ten times worse cuz he’s the older brother, he’s grown up fully committed to his job of protecting Luigi.

So if Mario lost him, truly lost him even for a minute, a moment, it would destroy him.

I originally was going to write something about how Mario wouldn't be prone to catatonia as much Luigi, since catatonia is rooted in fear responses. I believe Mario, at his core, is a man of action and perseverance, and I think if Luigi died– especially under violent circumstances– it would warp that part of him rather than snuff it out. I was going to detail the symptoms of prolonged grief disorder and explain how each brother would experience it.

Then I made myself actually upset. So now I'm going to derail this post entirely and talk about why I'm pretty sure that if Illumination and Nintendo has the cahonas to give us a one-up mushroom death fake-out, Mario is going to be the victim.

Mario is the titular character, he's going to be the most likely to do some big, heroic, overly risky or self-sacrificial thing that gets him killed.

Luigi would recover relatively well so long as his brother came out okay in the end. Not to say that he wouldn't have nightmares about it for weeks afterward, but given the amount of trust he has in Mario he would probably fool himself into thinking that cheating death was in the plan all along. Mario definitely wouldn't correct him if it helps Luigi feels better.

If Mario watched Luigi die, even if he got revived with a one-up shroom immediately afterward, no amount of therapy would ever make that moment okay.

What I'm trying to say is you are absolutely right that Mario would be the worse off of the brothers if forced to deal with the loss of the other. Mario is not only deeply protective of his little brother– has been since they were babies– he knows that Luigi will follow him wherever he goes, and wherever that leads in the end is ultimately his fault. Thank you for coming to my messiest ted-talk to date. PLEASE don't make me think about dead Mario Brothers anymore.

[shrinkrants]

The rise in psychiatric self-labeling among young people has raised concerns among researchers for its negative impacts on self-esteem, stigma, and distress.

Some have linked this self-diagnosis trend to social media, particularly TikTok, where teen girls are persuaded to identify with and glamorize rare disorders and develop eating disorders to fit in with popular content creators. This is encouraged by for-profit companies too, like Cerebral, who use TikTok to prey on teenage concerns around weight and appearance to promote their diagnosis and medication services.

In the current study, Tse and Haslam linked “concept creep” to that increase in self-diagnosis. Concept creep is when a definition balloons outward over time to encompass more and more. In the psychiatric context specifically, it includes a wider range of behaviors or feelings being considered “disorders” (horizontal creep) as well as milder forms of emotional distress becoming considered a “disorder” (vertical creep).

As an example of concept creep, the new diagnosis of “prolonged grief disorder” (PGD) has been controversial because it now defines people who still mourn their loved ones intensely after just six months to one year as “mentally ill.” Beyond framing a normal part of human experience as a “mental illness,” the diagnosis has also opened to door to the pharmaceutical industry, who claim that grief is an “addiction” that can be treated with addiction drugs.

[crystalsandbubbletea]

New introduction post!

Welcome to Crystalsandbubbletea's blog!

⚠️DO NOT FOLLOW ME IF YOU ARE STRICTLY A NSFW BLOG! I AM OKAY IF ADULTS FOLLOW ME JUST DON'T BE A NSFW BLOG I'M UNDER 18-⚠️

Pronouns page for easier navigation (Now includes fandoms I'm in):

Info + Other blogs under the cut

Infov

-Aliases/Names: Crystals, Crystal, Bubble Tea, Bubble, Tea, Mint, Rian, Rain

-Age: 17

-I have ADHD, Autism, PGD (Prolonged Grief Disorder), possible PTSD. I am also a furry and therian.

-I'm Indigenous American (Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma)

-I'm transmasc nonbinary (They/Xe/Ve/Zir pronouns), and also Trixic, Demiromantic, Demisexual (mildly sex-repulsed though-), and Polyamorous!

-I do follow a religion, however it's a religion that I founded (I only made one post about it, as I don't want my blog to go too deep into religion in case if people are uncomfortable/have religious trauma)

-Birthday: March 7

-I have two dogs, Bubble and Squeak are their names (And Squeak is part cat /hj)

-Traumagenic system (Will introduce the others later)

What my blog contains: I post incorrect quotes, art (Note: I reblog my art from my @crystalsandbubbletea-art blog), things about my book series, political things, ish that happened in my life, occasional vents (Please filter the tags "#crystals vents", "#crystal vents", "#bubble tea vents", "#bubble vents", "#tea vents", and "#rian vents" if you don't want to see my vent posts), things about the fandoms I am in, photos about projects I did, rambles, rants, queer things, and neurodivergent things.

Fandoms I am in: Baldur's Gate, RWBY, Red vs Blue, Halo, Percy Jackson, Andromeda Six, Murder Drones, Helluva Boss*, Hazbin Hotel*, Doctor Who, Demon Slayer, Hollow Knight, Warrior Cats, Undertale + Deltarune, Astroneer (Slowly getting into it-), and Fundamental Paper Education

*Note: I do NOT support Vivziepop, she's done way too many problematic things + Based Alastor off of cultural appropriation

Fandoms I don't like/VERY THIN ICE: My Hero Academia (The cultural appropriation in that fandom is intense-), Countryhumans (Specifically the shipping + NSFW side... Y'all need to look at the politics and histories of those countries your shipping, and I don't think it's ideal to ship land masses and make NSFW about them-)

Custom tags: #crystalsandbubbletea, #crystals ish, #crystal ish, #bubble tea ish, #bubble ish, #tea ish, #rian ish, #crystals storytime, #crystal storytime, #bubble tea storytime, #bubble storytime, #tea storytime, #rian storytime, #crystals vents, #crystal vents, #bubble tea vents, #bubble vents, #tea vents, #rian vents, #crystals asks, #crystal asks, #bubble tea asks, #bubble asks, #tea asks, #rian asks, #legacies by crystalsandbubbletea, #crystals sighs into the void, #crystal sighs into the void, #bubble tea sighs into the void, #bubble sighs into the void, #tea sighs into the void, #rian sighs into the void, #crystals rambles, #crystal rambles, #bubble tea rambles, #bubble rambles, #tea rambles, #rian rambles, and any tag with the names of my OC's

⚠️DNI: NSFW blogs that don't tag their content as NSFW, anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-Furries, anti-Therians, anti-Semitic, Islamophobes, Zionists, people who fetishize minorities, people who misuse tonetags, ableists, racists, TERFS, radfems, radqueers, anti-abortion, fatphobic, Wilbur Soot defenders, abuse defenders, victim-blamers, tag NSFW things on the asexual tags, RWDE (Y'all are the most racist, homophobic, fatphobic, and ableist people I have ever met), bodyshamers, transmeds, "LGB drop the T" (Y'all are hypocrites, we have rights BECAUSE of Trans people, specifically BLACK trans people), exclusionists, proshippers (Trauma related reasons-), anti-Cluster B Personality Disorders, Southern Baptist Christians (Trauma related reasons once again), people who think it's okay to send death threats and/or suicide threats, AI "artists", AI "writers"⚠️

Boundaries: Don't call me 'slut', 'cunt' or 'whore' even if it's a joke, don't flirt with me even if it's a joke (Trauma related reasons I'm not too keen on talking about)

THIN ICE: Countryhumans fandom, My Hero Academia fandom, people over 25 (Just don't be creepy please-), people who don't tag reblog bait

Other blogs:

Art blog: @crystalsandbubbletea-art

Blog for my fanfiction series: @the-official-legacies-blog

OC Ask Blog: @crystals-ocs-ask-blog

Clangen blog: @crystalsclangencorner

Berat blog: @berat-adil-emre-yukime

Warriors rewrite blog: @crystals-warriors-rewrite

Lore Olympus AU blog: @crystals-lo-rewrite

Gimmick blogs:

@aroace-spec-empire

@definitely-totally-croatia

@the-ottoman-empire-for-real

@the-republic-of-california-fr-fr

@totally-czechoslovakia

@actually-czechoslovakia

@croatias-ghost-vesna

@crystals-la-bubble-tea

@official-sakartvelo

@actually-cuba

@actually-bulgaria

@actually-titan

@totally-callisto

That's all! Have a great day! (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

@the-real-planet-x

(*Cough* Also I make posts about my Indigenous American heritage *Cough*)