The discursive transformation of grief throughout history

Abstract

When a person loses someone close to them, a grief reaction is triggered. A person grieving finds themselves in a vulnerable and painful state that requires compassionate care. Currently, we are witnessing grief appearing in a new context, since the latest version of the diagnostic manual 'International Classification of Diseases' (ICD-11) contains a mental disorder called 'prolonged grief disorder'. The European diagnostic classification system is published by the World Health Organization (WHO), and in 2018, the 11th version of the 'International Classification of Diseases' (ICD-11) was published, where the diagnosis of grief is now included as an independent diagnosis under the designation 'prolonged grief disorder' (WHO, 2019).In 2013, the fifth version of the American diagnostic classification system the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM-5) was published by the American Psychiatric Association. In this manual, prolonged grief was rejected as an independent diagnosis, with the suggestion that there is insufficient evidence for the diagnosis. Prolonged grief is instead placed as a subcategory of 'Other specified trauma and stressor-related disorders' (DSM-2013(DSM- , 2013).