While the holidays are often a time of joy and celebration, they can also be tough for many. This time of year can take on a somber tone when you’ve lost a loved one. Even years or decades later, it’s not quite the same because that person is gone.
Grief is said to be the price of love. But our guest, Mary-Frances O’Connor, says grief is also a form of learning. In fact, the brain rewires itself after the loss of a loved one.
O’Connor is a neuroscientist and psychologist who has spent much of her career studying grief and grieving. She wanted to better understand why grief can be so devastatingly painful and uncover how grief works in the brain.
She joins us to share her research on "The Grieving Brain" and "surprising science of how we learn from love and loss."
GUEST:
Mary-Frances O’Connor, associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona and author of “The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss."