Presenting Complaints

• In bereavement patients feel overwhelmed by loss, are preoccupied with the lost loved one, and present with anxiety, depressive and somatic symptoms
• After acute and serious stressors patients are overwhelmed by the stress, are preoccupied with the event and compalin of anxiety, depressive and somatic symptoms .
  
  

Diagnostic Features

• Normal grief includes preoccupation with the loved one and this may be accompanied by symptoms of depression to the extent that the patient withdraws from their usual acitivities and social contacts and finds it difficult to think of the future.
• An acute stress disorder includes preoccupation with the event and is accompanied by symptoms of depression to the extent that the patient withdraws from their usual acitivities and social contacts and finds it difficult to think of the future.
  
  

Differential Diagnosis

• If a full picture of depression is present two months after the loss consider depression
• If a full picture of post traumatic stress disorder are present one month after the event then the diagnosis is PTSD.