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What is Complicated Grief (CG)?
Sep 18, 2025
What is Complicated Grief?
“We grieve because we have loved. Through our journey we can be healed.”
Death is a certainty in life that can be hard to understand until you have experienced the loss of a loved one. Each year, more than 3 million people die in the United States. On average, each of these people leave behind 5 grieving individuals, including close family, friends, or acquaintances. Grief, as explained by Dr. Katherine Shear (founding Director of the Center for Prolonged Grief), is a blend of yearning and sadness, along with thoughts, memories, and images of the deceased person. As we never stop feeling sad that loved ones are gone, or stop missing them, grief is permanent. Overtime, one learns how to integrate this grief with their day-to-day life and come to terms with the loss, reorienting into the world without their loved one in it.
Complicated Grief (CG), also known as Prolonged Grief Disorder, affects about 7-10% of those experiencing grief after a loss. CG refers to the prolonged and intense feelings of grief that interferes with daily life months, years, and sometimes decades after a loved one is gone. Because of its longevity and consumption of a person’s life, CG can often be misinterpreted as depression. Dr. Shear explains the difference:
Bereaved people are sad because they miss a person they love, a person who added light, color, and warmth to their world. They feel like the light has been turned off and they are not sure how to turn it on again.
Depressed people are sad because they see themselves and/or the world as fundamentally flawed, inadequate, or worthless. They feel like the world has no light, color, or warmth. There is no light to turn on.
There are numerous factors that put an individual at risk for developing CG. The loss of a child, for example, significantly increase the risk of a complicated grief reaction, as does a loss that is sudden, traumatic, and/or violent. Each person experiences grief differently depending on key factors such as the relationship with the loved one, circumstances supporting the death, past experiences with loss, and present influences.
Molly Ruggles, PsyD, LP, Assistant Clinical Director at the FamilyMeans Center for Grief & Loss says, “the process of grieving and healing from a loss is so unique and individual, the family culture and social context, the relationship with the person they lost, and many other factors. Grief can be very isolating, particularly when the loss of a child, a loss to suicide, homicide, or substance use. Losses that are otherwise traumatic or highly public are also complicated. We know that people do better when they are not alone with their grief. In cases where an individual does not have support or does not have enough or the right kind of support, therapy can be another way of accessing support and connection. In cases of complicated grief, we know that therapy is an effective way to find some relief.” In addition to connecting with others, pets and animals included, taking good care of yourself, eating well, moving your body, spending time in nature, and getting enough sleep all contribute to supporting the process of healing.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing grief or complicated grief after the loss of a loved one, please contact us to schedule an appointment with a therapist at one of our locations.
FamilyMeans Center for Grief & Loss
1129 Grand Ave, Saint Paul MN 55105
651-641-0177
FamilyMeans Counseling & Therapy Clinics
1875 Northwestern Ave S, Stillwater MN 55082
1200 Hosford Street, Suite 201, Hudson WI 54016
651-439-4840 | FamilyMeans@familymeans.org
https://www.familymeans.org/counseling-therapy/
Information Source:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3384440/