Learn about the impact of grief on the physical body and how the stress of grief and loss can lead to healing.
About the guest:
My special guest Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Her book The Grieving Brain was included on Oprah’s list of Best Books to Comfort a Grieving Friend and was the subject of a previous interview on this podcast. Today she discusses her latest book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing, which is being released in paperback format on August 1, 2026. Learn more at her website:
In this episode:
- How Mary-Frances was inspired to do research on grief
- As a society we tend to ignore the body and grief can push us further in that direction
- Why we need to pay attention to the messages from our bodies, particularly when we are grieving
- The importances of social connectedness during grief and all of life
- Sitting with someone who is calm can help us co-regulate when we are stressed in our grief
- Why bereavement should be a public health issue
- How we gradually build capacity to carry our grief
- Why every experience of grief is different for us – and that’s natural and normal
- How there is a lack of studies on crying in bereavement even though it has multiple functions
- Emotional tears contain different hormones than irritant tears
- Cardiovascular events related to acute grief
- Strategies for managing grief holistically and growing through the process
Links mentioned in this episode:
Resources
- Upaya Zen Center: Death / Dying / Grief
- Upaya Zen Center: Compassion and Love
- Key Research Publications by Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD
Related episodes
- The Grieving Brain: The Science of Love and Loss with Mary-Frances O’Connor PhD
- Grief and Bereavement on the Hospice Journey with Barbara Karnes RN
- Grief 2 Growth: Loss, Consciousness, and Overcoming Racism with Brian Smith
Other links
- Hospice Wisdom with Barbara Karnes Resource Page
- 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying by Karen Wyatt MD
- Latest post on Substack: Letting Go of Guilt
- What Really Matters Podcast: How Do I Forgive Myself?
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