Mourner’s Little Helper: The Use of Psychotropics in the Treatment of Grief-Related Distress From Opium to Opioid Antagonists

The value of diagnosing the pathologically bereaved, as affected by a distinct disorder from depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, has long been debated by clinicians and scholars alike. Disputes continue over whether a specific diagnosis would help those struggling after loss, even after prolonged grief disorder gained official status in 2022 as a condition recognized and defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This paper examines how different medical conceptualizations of grief have helped shape the development and use of pharmaceutical interventions to treat the bereaved over the past century. Using a Foucauldian-inspired approach and a biopolitics framework, this paper traces the multifaceted history of grief as a condition that can be targeted and treated through medication and medical interventions.