ABSTRACT
Mental illness, in and of itself, is a type of loss that is merely whispered about and one that is often wrought with misunderstanding and shame. Even the mention of the term, mental illness, often conjures up images of stereotypical lunacy. Death as a result of mental illness is a type of death rarely mentioned, quietly filed away in the shadows of disenfranchised grief, setting the stage for a complicated grief response. A death by mental illness ushers in a special type of shameful rendering of the thought processes similar to the one experienced when a suicide occurs: it could have been prevented. When this type of relentless torment occurs, there is a strong temptation to find cause, and to appoint blame to such a death.
