The Neuroscience of Grief: How the Brain Rewrites Safety and Self After Loss

Nov 10, 2025

In this insightful discussion, Piper Rose, Founder of Shadowplay Coaching and expert in grief work, explores the neuroscience of loss. She emphasizes that grief should be seen as a biological process rather than something to 'get over.' The conversation delves into how different individuals grieve—some through action, others by expressing emotions. They highlight practices that support healing and the significant overlap between grief and physical pain. Piper also discusses the importance of community in navigating grief and the role of anger in this complex emotional journey.

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INSIGHT

Grief As A Biological Process

Grief is a physiological, adaptive process that updates the brain's safety, energy, and identity predictions.
Treating grief as biology reframes it from a problem to a rite of passage that reshapes resilience and self.

INSIGHT

Prediction And Interoception In Grief

The brain constructs emotion via predictive metabolic models, so grief shifts energy allocation and interoception.
Sensations like heaviness or fatigue reflect the nervous system updating internal maps after loss.

ADVICE

Use Somatic Tools To Support Mourning

Use somatic tools (breath, voice, thoracic movement) to mobilize expression and support physiological mourning.
See tools as supports for the body's natural mourning, not as shortcuts that bypass grief.

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What if grief isn't something to "get over," but a biological process that reshapes your sense of self, capacity, and connection?

In this episode, co-hosts Elisabeth Kristof and Jennifer Wallace are joined by Piper Rose—founder of Shadowplay Coaching and Director of Operations and Continuing Education at NSI—to explore grief through the lens of neuroscience and the body.

Together, they examine how the brain and body respond to major transitions, why sensations like heaviness or ache are part of adaptive prediction, and how practices that mobilize breath, voice, and thoracic movement can support your physiology's innate ability to heal.

You'll hear why grief looks different for everyone—from action-oriented logistics to relational sharing—and how both are valid paths. The conversation moves through the concept of a minimum effective dose for grief work, the overlap between pain and emotional circuits, the role of co-regulation, and why meaning-making often comes later in the process.

Anger and sacred rage also get their space here—alongside pathways back to nourishment.

Whether you're navigating loss, identity transitions, or the transformations that come with growth, this episode offers grounded language, body-based tools, and community-centered practices to help you fall apart, be held, and reform with greater capacity.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Grief as a physiological process, not a problem to fix
06:30 — How the brain maps grief: interoception, prediction, pain circuits
14:10 — Two grief styles: action orientation and expressive processing
21:40 — Minimum-effective-dose grief practice and daily resourcing
29:00 — Anger inside grief, sacred rage, and safe expression
36:20 — Belonging, co-regulation, and being held by people or the earth
44:15 — Timing of meaning-making and avoiding premature silver linings
51:00 — Practical ways to start: personal, relational, and community supports

Key Takeaways:

Grief is an adaptive social-threat response that updates your body's internal maps.
The same networks tied to physical pain can interpret loss, which is why grief can ache.
People grieve differently. Action and expression are both valid pathways.
Small, repeatable practices help build capacity without overwhelm.
Co-regulation and clear support reduce isolation and soften protective patterns.

Resources Mentioned:

NeuroSomatic Intelligence (NSI) Foundations Bundle — Three on-demand workshops to integrate applied neuroscience and somatics into your work: https://neurosomaticintelligence.com/foundations
BrainBased.com — Community using applied neurology and somatics: https://brainbased.com
Shadowplay Coaching (Piper Rose) — Relationship and grief-support coaching.

If this episode supported you, subscribe and leave a review so others can find the show. Share it with someone who could use compassionate, science-informed language for grief.

If you're a coach, therapist, or practitioner ready to integrate applied neuroscience and somatics into your work, start with the NSI Foundations Bundle at NeurosomaticIntelligence.com/Foundations.

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