Brain-broken: how grief and loss affect your well-being

This video is meant to expand your general knowledge about living a healthy life and is NOT a substitute for seeking medical advice. Please consult with your doctor before making changes in your health practices, diet and self-care.

When we experience profound loss, we often say we’re ‘heart-broken’, but it might be more accurate to say we’re ‘brain-broken’, considering the role the organ plays in the grieving process.

In fact, following the immediate acute pain of the loss, the months afterward see the body flooded with intense stress hormones, setting off widespread changes that interfere with sleep, mood and memory.

Most of the time, the acceptance phase returns the brain and body back to its equilibrium, although experts agree that the bereaved follow their own individual timeline to get to this point.

While there is no way of dispelling or avoiding the pain of losing people who are significant to us, many bereaved have found talk therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, engaging in regular exercise and talking with trusted friends, offer some relief in the grieving process.

View the original video here.

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