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Suicide Often Leaves Mental, Physical Woes in Surviving Spouse [Consumer.HealthDay.com]

 

The loss of a spouse is never easy, but the loss of a spouse to suicide may be even more devastating, leading to a greater risk of a host of mental and physical problems, Danish researchers suggest.

Surviving partners are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. Surviving spouses are also at higher risk for suicide themselves, the study said.

"It's a really distressing event for people," said lead researcher Annette Erlangsen, from the Danish Research Institute for Suicide Prevention at the Mental Health Centre in Copenhagen.

"Being bereaved by suicide is stigmatized and it is something people don't talk about," Erlangsen said. "Surviving spouses may feel isolated, and other people may be more afraid of addressing it. It's important to deal with the loss, and part of that is talking to others about it."

Although the study wasn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship, researchers also found that those who lost a spouse to suicide were more apt to develop physical ailments, including cirrhosis of the liver, sleeping disorders, cancer and herniated discs in the back.

"However, most survivors of suicide manage to maneuver through this phase of grieving without any severe health problems," Erlangsen said.



[For more of this story, written by Steven Reinberg, go to https://consumer.healthday.com...g-spouse-720886.html]

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