British Columbia Family Law Blog

“People feel wronged, humiliated and that some injustice has been done to them,” says Dr. Michael Linden, the German psychiatrist who named the behaviour after reporting an increase in affected patients in the wake of German reunification.

“The critical part is this lasting and very intensive emotional embitterment, a mixture of depression and helplessness and hopelessness . . . It’s a very nasty emotion.”

People have intrusive thoughts and memories about the event, and get locked into a serious mental state, he says. “These people don’t have the feeling that they must change, but rather have the idea that the world should change or the oppressor should change, so they don’t ask for treatment.”

Ten years of research suggests it affects one to two per cent of the population, but Linden says the incidence rises during times of societal change — including economic upheaval. "We are all vulnerable in those areas which are especially important to us. So, if you really think your job is the centre of your life, that’s where you’re vulnerable."

He says adding severe embitterment to the manual of mental illness could help patients get help and encourage research into the disorder.

But some critics question just how doctors could distinguish between irrational and reasonable bitterness.