The Grieving Brain

For as long as humans have existed, we have experienced feelings of grief after the death of a loved one. During the 20th century, psychiatrists such as Sigmund Freud and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross carried out research studies on the process of mourning. Through a series of interviews, they found significant patterns and similarities, which enabled them to build an objective perspective from which to define the grieving process. Much has since been written in scientific literature about ‘what’ grief is: how it feels, which problems it can cause, and even which bodily reactions it can trigger. However, beyond the ‘what’, we should also ask ‘why’ grief hurts so much. Why does death, or the permanent absence of a loved one, cause such devastating feelings?

Part of the answer to this question can be found by analysing the brain, which is the core of all our thoughts, feelings, reason, and behaviour. Studying grief from a neurobiological point of view can help us gain a wider perspective of the entire process. By understanding how brain circuits, neurotransmitters, behaviours, and emotions are all involved during bereavement, we are able to find a completely new way of empathising not only with others, but also with ourselves, over the course of the grieving process.