We all understand the emotional impact of grief, but its effects on the body are often overlooked. Today on the Being Well Podcast, Forrest is joined by clinical psychologist and researcher Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor to explore the physiology of grief and how to heal after loss. Dr. O’Connor explains how our brains and bodies organize themselves around the people we love, creating “maps” of their presence and relying on them for physical and emotional regulation. They discuss the health risks associated with bereavement, how to care for the healing body, ambiguous loss, the difference between grief and prolonged grief, and how we can gradually build a meaningful life around loss.
About our Guest: Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona and Director of the Grief, Loss, and Social Stress Laboratory. She is the author of two books on grief: The Grieving Brain and The Grieving Body.
Key Topics
- 00:00: Intro
- 4:42: The map that no longer exists
- 12:00: Co-regulation: the attachment figure as an external pacemaker
- 16:35: Physiological effects of grief
- 24:53: How to heal after loss
- 36:46: Protest, despair, and meditative practices
- 45:45: Prolonged grief and getting stuck in restoration
- 57:31: Progressive Muscle Relaxation vs mindfulness
- 1:03:00: Re-engaging with the world
- 1:15:42: Recap
