Death of pet can hurt as much as losing family member, study confirms

"This psychiatric disorder was formally classified by the World Health Organisation in 2018, and is characterised by elevated levels of bereavementrelated distress. However, it can currrently only be diagnosed following the death of a person. 'People can experience clinically significant levels of PGD following the death of a pet,' the researchers explained in their study. 'PGD symptoms manifest in the same way regardless of the species of the deceased.'"

"The results revealed that more than one in five Brits think the death of a pet is more distressing than the death of a human. Based on the findings, the experts believe that a pet's death can lead to 'prolonged grief disorder', or PGD. This psychiatric disorder was formally classified by the World Health Organisation in 2018, and is characterised by elevated levels of bereavementrelated distress."

"To get to the bottom of it, Dr Philip Hyland, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University, enlisted 975 Brits to talk about their experiences with different bereavements. The results revealed that almost one third (32.6 per cent) had experienced the death of a pet, while almost all participants had experienced the death of a human. However, 21 per cent of these people chose the death of their pet as the most distressing."

Nine hundred seventy-five UK adults reported their experiences with different bereavements. Almost one third (32.6%) had experienced the death of a pet, while almost all participants had experienced the death of a human. Twenty-one percent of those with pet losses rated the death of their pet as the most distressing bereavement. Following pet death, 7.5% of participants met diagnostic requirements for prolonged grief disorder (PGD). PGD was formally classified by the World Health Organisation in 2018 and is characterised by elevated bereavement-related distress. PGD can currently only be diagnosed following the death of a person, and symptoms manifest similarly regardless of species.

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