Holden's Diagnosis: Gavin

There are 5 stages of loss and grief. The first stage is denial and isolation. Most people deny the situation as if it never happened. The second step is the anger. The anger can be aimed towards inanimate objects, complete strangers, or even family and friends. You feel guilty for being angry, which causes you to be even angrier. The third step to loss and grief is bargaining. You usual say things like “if only we had tried to be a better person toward them. Depression is the fourth stage of loss and grief. There are two different types of depression. The first one causes sadness and regret; we worry in our grief that we have spent less time with others that depend on us. The second type can be more subtle, more private than the first kind of depression. The last stage is acceptance, not everyone meets this stage.

Post-traumatic stress disorder may occur soon after a major trauma. The symptoms are feelings of detachment, less expressions in moods, difficulty concentrating, sleeping difficulties, dizziness, headache and fever. There are no tests that can be done to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder. The diagnosis is based on certain symptoms after you’ve had extreme trauma. If Holden had this disorder he would probably be put on medication. Medicines that act on the nervous system can help reduce anxiety and other symptoms of PTSD. Antidepressants such as Prozac can be effective in treating PTSD. These symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and the five stages of loss and grief seem to have affected Holden once his brother had died.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-5-stages-of-loss-and-grief/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/