New Books in Psychology Mary-Frances O’Connor, The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can be an Opportunity for Healing (Harper One, 2025)
9 snips
Sep 14, 2025 
Mary-Frances O’Connor, a renowned neuroscientist, dives deep into the multifaceted impact of grief on the body. She reveals startling insights about how grief can affect our cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems. The conversation explores the difference between prolonged and complicated grief, shedding light on its unique challenges for children. O’Connor emphasizes that navigating grief can lead to personal growth and healing, intertwining scientific research with personal anecdotes, providing a hopeful lens on loss.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Grief As Attention And Opportunity
- Grief captures attention and forces the body to relearn daily life without a loved one.
- That focused attention can become an opportunity to understand and integrate change into ongoing life.
Physiological Toll Of Grief
- The grieving body reacts with raised heart rate, blood pressure, and prolonged cortisol.
- These changes can normalize for most people within months but may persist and affect other systems.
Reset Sleep With A Fixed Wake Time
- Get up at the same time every day to help reset circadian rhythms even after a poor night's sleep.
- Use consistent wake times to regulate the body without relying on alcohol or sleep aids that worsen sleep.
