Love and loss are often described in terms of how it makes us feel. Fortunately, new research on the brain is helping us understand the WHY. Why are attachment bonds so deeply rooted in our psyche? Why is grief often experienced as a state of disorientation? With functional MRI technology, we now have evidence that the closeness we feel with loved ones exists in the tangible hardware of our brains. It follows that when we suffer a loss, our brains need time to catch up before creating a new map of reality. This SDG will explore both the scientific and humanistic approaches. We will examine the brain’s responses and see how they change over time. Discussions will include attachment bonds, coping mechanisms, brain mapping and tools for building resilience. Let’s remove the stigma and study the latest research on grief and how it relates to our capacity for love. Core Books will include:
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss, by Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, 2023
Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief: by Claire Bidwell Smith, 2022
Coordinated by Sydell Weiner
14 Weeks. Live at Galey
Weekly topics will include:
The Neurobiology of Grief: How does the brain understand loss?
O’Connor, Ch. 1 & 2
New research on Love and Loss:
O’Connor, Ch. 6 & 7
Bidwell-Smith, Ch. 3
Anxiety and how it’s related to Grief:
Bidwell-Smith, Ch 1 & 2
Attachment Bonds: How they affect our experience of love:
O’Connor, Ch. 3 & 4
Tools for Releasing Pain:
Bidwell-Smith, Ch. 5 & 6
O’Connor: https://maryfrancisoconnor.org/grief-resources
Healing techniques: e.g. Writing, Support Groups, etc.
Bidwell-Smith: Ch. 7,8 & 9
Finding Meaning after Traumatic Loss:
O’Connor: Ch. 8
Bidwell-Smith: Ch. 4
Grieving across other Cultures and Religions:
Bidwell-Smith: Ch. 10
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/, Silverman
Research debunking “The 5 Stages of Grief”:
O’Connor; Ch. 9
Bidwell-Smith: Ch. 2
Healing when Relationships were Conflicted:
Bidwell-Smith: Ch. 11 & 12
Complicated Grief—Triggers and Interventions:
O’Connor: Ch. 5
How to revise the Maps in our Brain:
O’Connor: Ch 10 & 11
Core Books:
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss, by Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, 2023
Anxiety: The Missing Stager of Grief, by Claire Bidwell Smith, 2022
Culture and Grief: Ethnographic Perspectives: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ Silverman, Gila 2021
Recommended:
Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief, by David Kessler, 2020
Grief Resources: https://maryfrancisoconnor.org/grief-resources O'Connor, Mary-Francis, 2023