How it's diagnosed
The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) now officially recognize Prolonged Grief in their official diagnostic manuals. The WHO’s International Classification of Diseases 11th Edition (ICD-11) released guidelines in 2018; APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) criteria followed in 2020. The DSM-5-TR criteria are more specific but harmonize well with the ICD-11 guidelines.
In each of these systems, PGD is diagnosed when grief continues to seem inescapable, intruding on almost everything a griever does and it’s been more than a year since a loved one passed. A person with PGD has persistent strong feelings of yearning and longing. Thoughts and memories of the person who died often fill their mind and prevent them from living a satisfying life. They might still find it hard to believe that their loved one is never coming back. They might feel strong feelings of loneliness, a sense of disconnection from others and a lot of emotional pain or numbness. They try to avoid anything that reminds them of the loss. It might be hard to have a feeling that anything matters in their life anymore and feel confused about who they are without their loved one.