Jensoo- Love Inevitably

"SOULMATES"

AUTHOR's POV

"I regret to tell you Director Kim, but the patient is suffering from a condition we called Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder." the doctor finally announced the moment she stepped out of the consultation room. She then looked at Lisa who at the moment was being ushered by a psychotherapist towards the therapy room and gestured her medical team to start with the session. The doctor then turned to face them and guide the three woman in her office.

"What's a Persistent complex bereavement disorder, Doctor? Director Kim asked quite alarmed despite her calm and composed demeanour. The doctor eyed them carefully and heaved a deep sigh before she answered them with such discretion.

"Persistent complex bereavement disorder or what we sometimes called "Complicated grief" is a diagnosis assigned to individuals who experience an unusually disabling or prolonged response to bereavement or loss."

"It causes patients suffering from this condition to feel extreme yearning for a deceased loved one, usually over a prolonged period. Feelings of longing are often accompanied by destructive thoughts and behaviors, as well as general impairment in resuming normal life." She said matter-of-factly and then continued with her short lecture.

"Losing a loved one is one of the most distressing and unfortunately, common experiences people face. Most people experiencing normal grief and bereavement have a period of sorrow, numbness, and even guilt and anger. Gradually these feelings ease, and it's possible to accept loss and move forward as time goes by."

"But for some people, feelings of loss are exhausting and don't improve even after time passes. This is known as complicated grief, sometimes called persistent complex bereavement disorder. In complicated grief, painful emotions are so long lasting and severe that you have trouble recovering from the loss and resuming your own life" she explained carefully as she watches their reaction.

"How bad is it Doc" Mrs. Kim finally asked calmly, trying to stay placid but the sadness in her voice was so evident that no amount of self control can ever hide her fear.

"Well, she's showing all the symptoms and it was evident from the series of interviews and test that we conducted on her." the doctor answered sadly at the three of them. She then heaved a deep sigh and continued with her findings.

"She's also showing early signs of delusional disorder, a serious mental disorder in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue. Like how she believes that her Mom and dad are still alive."

"Not only that, the patient is also suffering from other complications like post-traumatic stress disorder and separation anxiety disorder due to an unexpected or violent death, which in her case is her parents' death from the car accident." The doctor enumerated extensively and the three can't help but to unconsciously covered their mouths, having a hard time digesting everything the doctor just said. They never imagine the severity and extent of how bad Lisa's condition was, until now.

"Doctor, is there anything we could do to prevent this from getting worse?" Jennie suddenly asked with her voice cracking. Her cat eyes threating to shed tears while Irene held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, hoping that somehow it would ease her budding anxieties.

"Well, there is no single treatment method known to cure persistent complex bereavement disorder. It must be done with both medication and series of therapies to help the patient manage their symptoms. For the mean time we can prescribe her Serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This will help the patient help manage depressive symptoms of persistent complex bereavement disorder. The patient must also undergo Psychotherapy and Bereavement counselling. It is important that the patient must be guided by these professionals who are trained to treat people for their emotional and psychological problems." The doctor stressed the last sentence with such emphasis.