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A reader writes: "Complicated Grief," "Prolonged Grief Disorder" and now "Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder." In reading about all of these "disorders" with an open mind, I clearly am suffering from all three. And suffering is the appropriate word. It's been over four years since my beloved died and I still don't know my place in this world. Still feel my life is mostly meaningless without her. I've kept her clothes and most of her things just where they always were. I feel like if I got rid of that stuff, my life would feel even more empty than it already does. Her things being where they always were gives me a small sense of comfort.
I know my wife is not coming back in this world. But, reading these articles makes me feel as though I haven't fully accepted her death because I've kept her things. I just can't bear any more emptiness. Removing her things just feels like another loss of what I had. I need something, anything, that eases my pain.
Categorizing those with prolonged grief as mentally ill seems harsh. We've lost not just the love of our life but the life we loved.
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