The Science & Process of Healing from Grief

This episode, I discuss grief and the challenges of processing
losses of different kinds. I explain the biological mechanisms of
grief, including how neural circuits for emotional and factual
memory combine with those for love and attachment, to create
feelings of absence and yearning. I discuss how grief is distinct
from depression, yet why they can feel so similar. I also provide
science-based tools to assist with the grieving process, including
how to reframe and remap the relationship with those we have lost
while still maintaining a strong emotional connection to them. I
also explain the importance of having and building strong
foundational psychological and biological states so that we can
better cope with grief when it happens. Finally, I describe tools
to adjust those states, including those for accessing sleep,
managing stress and emotional swings. This episode is for those
suffering from grief but also for everyone, given that we all
experience grief at some point in our lives. We recorded this
episode before the recent mass shooting tragedies in the United
States. While we hope the information in this episode will be of
use to anyone suffering from grief of any kind and at any time, we
are also careful to acknowledge that many people require additional
support and resources. For that reason, we include mention of such
resources and we generally hope people will access them if needed.
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our
sponsors AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman LMNT:
https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab Waking Up:
https://wakingup.com/huberman Momentous:
https://livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Grief
& Bereavement  (00:04:02) Sponsors: AG1, LMNT (00:08:35)
Grief vs. Depression, Complicated Grief  (00:12:20) Stages of
Grief, Individual Variation for Grieving  (00:16:05) Grief:
Lack & Motivation, Dopamine (00:23:15) Three Dimensions of
Relationships (00:29:52) Tool: Remapping Relationships (00:37:15)
Grief, Maintaining Emotional Closeness & Remapping 
(00:44:40) Memories of Loved Ones & Remapping Attachments 
(00:48:04) Yearning for Loved Ones: Memories vs. Reality, Episodic
Memory  (00:51:40) Tools: Adaptively Processing Grief,
Counterfactual Thinking, Phantom Limbs (01:00:32) Tool: Remembering
Emotional Connection & Processing Grief (01:04:03) Memories,
Hippocampal Trace Cells & Feeling An Absence  (01:10:14)
Yearning & Oxytocin, Individualized Grief Cycles 
(01:18:24) Tool: Complicated Grief & Adrenaline (Epinephrine)
(01:24:37) Sentimental Attachment to Objects   (01:26:13)
Why do Some People Grieve More Quickly? Individual Attachment
Capacity  (01:29:42) “Vagal Tone,” Heart Rate, Breathwork
& Grief Recovery  (01:42:32) Complicated Grief &
Cortisol Patterns (01:48:50) Tool: Improving Sleep &
Grieving  (01:54:28) Tools: Grief Processing & Adaptive
Recovery  (02:03:36) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback,
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