https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Sorrow-Finding-Enduring-Wholeness/dp/1538114178/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sweet+sorrow&qid=1556030020&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Complicated grief (CG) is a prolonged, persistent, and intense grief response to a loss, usually loss of a beloved person. An individual with CG can't or doesn't adapt to the loss or integrate/accept the loss. This type of experience associated with loss is quite common for those with a PD, particularly those with BPD.

I was assisted by a grief expert, a previous professor and mentor of mine, Dr. Sherry Cormier (her website: https://www.sherrycormierauthor.com/). Dr. Cormier is a certified bereavement trauma specialist and she provides grief mentoring, speaking, and consulting in the areas of grief and loss, health and wellness, and stress management. She is the author of the book Sweet Sorrow. This book provides a narrative exploration of the grief process through examination, growth, and dedication to the continuance of the self following great personal loss.

The 8 identifiers of CG?

(Numbers 1, 6 and 7 would be much more challenging for clients with a preexisting BPD diagnosis)

1. Preoccupation with the person they lost - Clinging to the deceased person. Brooding and Rumination; Castrophizing.

2. Disengagement from other people and activities - avoidance.

3. Yearning and Craving for the deceased person

4. Less hope for the future.

5. Inability to accept the loss.

6. Intense feelings of loneliness -inability to regulate emotions. Increased feelings of guilt.

7. Disruption in self-care behaviors such as disrupted sleep, sensitivity to pain, impaired response to stress.

8. Loss of self-confidence and feelings of incompetence as identity, values, and goal-setting are impacted.

Goals of CG Treatment :

1. To restore and facilitate the natural adaptive process to grief and loss

2. To facilitate the griever's self-improvement based goals,

3. To facilitate the griever's re-engagement in the world

4. To help the griever rebuild social networks and connections

5. To help the griever manage and regulate emotions.

Treatment is an important part of the working through the CG process, just as it is working with BPD or any other PD. The hardest part can be the first step, but the hardest is also the most important.

A sincere thank you to Dr. Cormier for her input and help on this video. Check out her book Sweet Sorrow, the link is at the top of the comments section.

Order The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook by Dr. Fox: https://goo.gl/LQEgy1

Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in Texas, international speaker, and award winning author. He has been specializing in the treatment and assessment of individuals with personality disorders for over 15 years in the state and federal prison system, universities, and in private practice. His specialty areas include personality disorders, ethics, burnout prevention, and emotional intelligence.

He has published several articles in these areas and is the author of:

The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook: An Integrative Program to Understand and Manage Your BPD. Available May 1, 2019, but you can order it now at: https://goo.gl/LQEgy1

Antisocial, Borderline, Narcissistic and Histrionic Workbook: Treatment Strategies for Cluster B Personality Disorders (IPBA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award Winner): https://goo.gl/BLRkFy

Narcissistic Personality Disorder Toolbox: 55 Practical Treatment Techniques for Clients, Their Parents & Their Children: https://goo.gl/sZYhym

The Clinician’s Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders: https://goo.gl/ZAVe9v

Dr. Fox has given numerous workshops and seminars on ethics and personality disorders, personality disorders and crime, treatment solutions for treating clients along the antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic personality spectrum, emotional intelligence, managing mental health within the prison system, and others. Dr. Fox maintains a we