The Science of Loss and Recovery | Mary-Frances O’Connor

10% Happier with Dan Harris

10% Media, LLC

Dan Harris, Health & Fitness, Mindfulness, Dharma, Mental Health, Meditation

4.6 • 12.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2022

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Very few of us will live a life without loss.

As part of our Mental Health Reboot series in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, this week’s episodes talk a lot about grieving. Mary-Frances O’Connor, an expert in bereavement research, explores the science of how we grieve and experience loss, whether it’s a job or a loved one.

Mary-Frances O'Connor is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona, where she is also the Director of Clinical Training. And she is the author of a book called The Grieving Brain.

In this episode we talk about:

The distinction between grief and grieving
How her Buddhist practice has influenced her understanding of grief
Whether or not we can ever quote/unquote “get over it”
Why she argues for “a really big toolkit of coping strategies”
How to understand the work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross today
What grieving looks like in a pandemic
What to say to people who are grieving
The new diagnosis of prolonged grief disorder

Content Warning: Brief mention of suicide.

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mary-frances-oconnor-450

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the 10% happier podcast.
0:06.5	I'm Dan Harris.
0:08.5	Okay, I'll be honest.
0:12.2	I was both intrigued and mildly concerned when we booked today's guest intrigued because
0:18.8	she's an eminent scientist at the forefront of some fascinating research.
0:22.5	She also happens to be a practicing Buddhist.
0:24.9	Concerned just mildly because her area of expertise is grief.
0:28.8	But here's why that worried me a bit.
0:31.0	I am always thinking about how to make every episode as compelling as possible to as many
0:36.4	people as possible.
0:37.4	I'm borderline obsessed with that actually.
0:39.9	And the truth is not all of you will be grieving as we traditionally understand that word
0:44.2	right now, although obviously very few of us will live lives without loss.
0:50.0	In any event, the good news is that my guest today defines grief in a broad way.
0:55.2	It's not only when you lose a loved one in her view, but also when you lose a job or
0:59.3	a relationship.
1:00.3	And she even has thoughts about why so many of us grieve for public figures who've never
1:05.2	met.
1:06.2	Mary Frances O'Connor is an associate professor of clinical psychology and psychiatry at
1:10.4	the University of Arizona, where she's also the director of clinical training.
1:14.3	And she is the author of a book called The Grieving Brain.
1:17.8	In this conversation, we talk about the distinction between grief and grieving, what she's
	...

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