Disenfranchised grief

Disenfranchised grief is a term coined by Dr. Kenneth J. Doka in 1989 to describe forms of grief that are not acknowledged on a personal or societal level. Observers may take issue with a mourner's expression of grief or view their loss as insignificant, which can lead to feelings of isolation and doubt over the impact of the loss experienced. This concept is viewed as a "type of grief", but it can be viewed as a "side effect" of grief. This is not only applicable to grief in the case of death, but also many other forms of grief. There are few support systems, rituals, traditions, or institutions, such as bereavement leave, available to those experiencing grief and loss.

Even widely recognized forms of grief can become disenfranchised when well-meaning friends and family attempt to set a time limit on a bereaved person's right to grieve. For example, the need to regulate mourning and restore a state of normal work activity severely impacted the grieving process of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, according to American scholar Edward Linenthal. Grieving for deceased children was redefined as post-traumatic stress disorder if parents were not "over it" within two weeks.