Summary
In this episode of the Huberman Lab Podcast, Andrew Huberman discusses the science and tools of grief. He explains that grief and depression are distinct processes, with grief being a motivational state and a desire for something just out of reach. The five stages of grief defined by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross are not always experienced in a linear manner, and there is a lot of variation in the grief process depending on the type of loss. The breaking of attachments in healthy ways is governed by three dimensions that define our relationship to people and things: proximity, availability, and responsiveness.
The podcast also discusses the neuroscience behind the denial stage of grief and the importance of maintaining emotional attachment while uncoupling the attachment from the space and time representation of the person, animal or thing that was lost. The hippocampus, a brain area involved in the formation of new memories, has different cell types that play different roles in the grief process. Place cells and proximity cells represent where things are and map to emotional attachments, while trace cells are activated when we expect something to be at a given location but it's not there.
The podcast further explores the concept of how people experience grief and the role of oxytocin in the grieving process. The host explains that people with heightened levels of oxytocin receptors in the brain regions associated with craving and pursuit experience intense grief and a deep yearning to reconnect with the person or thing that is lost. The host also discusses the different rates at which people move through grief and the factors that contribute to this, such as innate differences and life circumstances.
The podcast discusses the relationship between catecholamine levels, grieving, and psychotherapy. The study shows that high levels of adrenaline are linked to complicated grief symptoms post-treatment. The podcast also explores the idea that allowing oneself to feel the attachment to someone can accelerate or support adaptive transitioning through grief. The study "Emotional Disclosure for Whom? A Study of Vagal Tone in Bereavement" explores whether written disclosure of the emotional connection to someone who was lost would be effective in moving through the grieving process.
Finally, the hosts discuss a paper exploring the relationship between cortisol rhythms and grieving, specifically complicated versus non-complicated grieving. The paper shows that individuals experiencing complicated grief have higher cortisol levels in the afternoon and at night compared to those experiencing non-complicated grief. The hosts suggest that regulating cortisol rhythms through viewing sunlight early in the day and avoiding bright lights from artificial sources in the evening can help establish a properly regulated autonomic nervous system, which is essential for navigating the grief process.
