Ep 100 Dr Mary Frances O'Connor on Grieving as a Learning Process, The Grieving Brain

I have been following the research of Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor for almost a decade now, so I was absolutely delighted when she published her book ‘The Grieving Brain’ last year. I am always hungry to learn about grief and specifically, what can the science tell us about how to make sure we are supporting the bereaved in the most compassionate and effective way possible. This book affirmed a lot of what I experience in clinical practice and also taught me more about the grieving process.

Loss of a loved one is something everyone experiences, and for as long as humans have existed, we have struggled when a loved one dies. Poets and playwrights have written about the dark cloak of grief, the deep yearning, and devastating heartache of loss. But until now, we have had little scientific perspective on this universal experience. In THE GRIEVING BRAIN: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss (HarperOne; February 1, 2022; Hardcover) renowned grief expert, neuroscientist, and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor, Ph.D., shares groundbreaking discoveries about what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new paradigm for understanding love, loss, and learning.

In The Grieving Brain, O’Connor, who has devoted decades to researching the effects of grief on the brain, reveals a fascinating new window into one of the hallmark experiences of being human. She makes cutting-edge neuroscience accessible and guides us through how we encode love and grief. With love, our neurons help us form attachments to others; but, with loss, our brain must come to terms with where our loved ones went, and how to imagine a future that encompasses their absence. Significantly, O’Connor debunks Kubler-Ross’ enduring idea of the “Five Stages of Grief” and sets a new paradigm for understanding grief on a neurological level.
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Based on O’Connor’s own trailblazing neuroimaging work, research in the field, and real-life stories, The Grieving Brain brings together accessible science and practical knowledge that provides a more nuanced understanding of what happens when we grieve and how to navigate loss with more ease and grace.

The Grieving Brain addresses:
• Why it’s so hard to understand that a loved one has died and is gone forever
• Why grief causes so many emotions—sadness, anger, blame, guilt, and yearning
• Why grieving takes so long
• What happens in the brain during grief
• The distinction between grief and complicated grief
• Why we ruminate so much after we lose a loved one
• How we go about restoring a meaningful life while grieving.

Ground-breaking, fascinating and accessible, The Grieving Brain is essential reading for everyone who’s lost someone and for anyone looking for a way to heal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

THE GRIEVING BRAIN
The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
By Mary-Frances O’Connor
HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Hardcover | ISBN: 9780062946232

Twitter: @doctormfo
FaceBook: @maryfranceso
Instagram: @doctormfoconnor
LinkedIn: Mary-Frances O’Connor

About Shapes of Grief:
Shapes of Grief is an internationally recognized organization dedicated to enhancing competency around loss, grief and bereavement literacy. Curated by Psychotherapist and grief specialist Liz Gleeson, Shapes of Grief equips individuals with the tools and expertise necessary for understanding and supporting the complex needs of the bereaved, or people grieving any type of loss.

With a curriculum that has been meticulously developed to include the most comprehensive evidence-based material available, Shapes Of Grief stands out as the only program to feature contributions from international grief experts. The award-winning online programme offers different levels of training to accurately meet the needs of each learner.

Don’t wait to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most, sign-up HERE for our FREE Masterclass in Loss & Grief.