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Dec 20, 2021 · Grief is tied to all sorts of different brain functions, says researcher and author Mary-Frances O'Connor. That can range from being able to recall memories to taking the perspective of another...
- Your Health
Here's her technique to make someone feel like it's safe to...
- Your Health
- Grieving Is A Kind of Learning
- Grief Is Different from Depression
- Resilience Is The Most Typical Pattern of Grieving
- It Takes Time and Experience For Your Brain to Understand The Loss
- Emotional Flexibility Matters
- Your Loved One Is Not Gone — They Are in Your Brain
When a loved one dies, your brain is trying to solve a problem, O’Connor said. It’s always trying to predict what happens next so given that you kissed your spouse goodbye every day when they went to work, your brain is used to predicting they'll be gone for a few hours and then come back again. “If you’ve been married for many years, and you wake ...
Griefis all about desperately wanting your loved one to be back and wishing things were the way they were before, O’Connor said. The core feeling in grief is yearning, with a specific person as its object. Depressionis more “global” — not just related to the person who has died, she noted. You feel things are not right in the world in other ways, t...
Most of us are wired to get through this very difficult time and restore a meaningful life, especially with support, research has found. “We see that while people experience pain and sadness, most of them never reach the point of not being able to get out to work or not being able to get dinner on the table for their family,” O’Connor said. The fam...
When a loved one dies, your brain needs to update its virtual map of the world, O’Connor writes in her book. It doesn't happen overnight but by repeatedly experiencing mundane little things you do day after day without your spouse. After a month, “you will learn that he didn’t come to breakfast 31 times,” she writes. There’s nothing magic about the...
That means being flexible in how you respond to whatever emotions come up, O’Connor said. “Sometimes, when that wave of grief knocks you off your feet, it’s appropriate to just collapse in the kitchen and cry and rock yourself back and forth and just be very upset,” she noted. “Other times, it makes sense to say to yourself, ‘I’m so upset about thi...
“You will never forget them. They will always be with you and impact your life and what you do and what you value,” O’Connor said. When neuroscientists look at the brains of humans who are in a bonded loving relationship, they see changes in neural connections and the way proteins are folded in the brain. “The physical wiring of our brain is made d...
Apr 24, 2024 · While grief is universal, it’s complicated and highly individualized, Ms. Luttrell said. Reading books can provide perspective and help mourners feel less alone, she has found.
- Hope Reese
Feb 27, 2024 · In her book The Grieving Brain (HarperOne, 2022), O’Connor explains how insight into brain circuits and neurotransmitters can enable us to navigate bereavement with self-compassion. “Grief is...
Apr 4, 2023 · Gentle and reassuring, What Does Grief Feel Like? shares the many ways people can grieve when a loved one dies and validates children’s unique grief experiences.
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Feb 1, 2022 · It gives you the science behind why you feel the way you do when dealing with grief and helps you understand what studies have shown as positive and negative strategies for processing grief and working through it.
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Jun 23, 2023 · Now, three years in, my grief feels different: the pain more muted, but the sense of loss more profound. Grief can start with numbness, but we feel more and more as time passes.
