In What Ways Does Losing A Parent Impact The Brain

Aug 27, 2018

There are just as many adults losing their parents as there are children. Many people neglect to take into consideration that adults have had and are having the traumatic experience of losing one or more of their parents. We will all lose our parents one day. There isn’t much research done to understand grief and how it affects us individually. Unfortunately, we often mourn our losses alone with feelings of detachment. Those looking in from the outside may lose patience with the one that is mourning and secretly or not so secretly wish the mourner would hurry and get over the loss. Knowing the effects of parental loss is very important.

Having lost a parent can cause negative impacts to someone’s mentality, emotional behavior, physical makeup along with other damaging results. We all react to the loss of loved ones differently. Circumstances that affect how we handle the loss include:

• The way we cope individually
• Our surrounding environment and various cultural influences
• Experiences that have happened in the past
• The kind of relationship you have with your parent
• The cause of death

In one study, over 11,000 individuals were examined in an effort to test how children were affected in long-term situations regarding parental loss. Children who were in a household with both of their parents were compared to orphans and children who were experiencing their parents going through a divorce. The last group also included children in unstable families. The orphaned children suffered the greatest impact of the parental loss. Upon reaching the age of 30, the majority of the orphans were not employed.

Those that were working were not involved in occupations that required a particular skillset. These numbers were greater than any of the other tested groups. The cigarette smoking rate was also much higher in these individuals and many of the subjects experienced severe depression. These overwhelming feelings of sadness were coupled with thoughts that they would never be able to obtain all the things they wished to have in life.

A different study was conducted with 37 other individuals to understand the overall experience and how the child saw life as a result of the parental loss. Stories were told through interviews and written documents were given from the individuals being tested. Their age range was from 20 years old to 80.

Researchers discovered that there was long-term emotional damage to the children who were not able to freely communicate with parents, didn’t have the proper support from parents and whose daily life was unstable as they mourned the loss of their parent.

The information gathered from brain imaging will show and aid us in the understanding of someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one. We are able to see what is going on in the brain and any changes that may occur as a result of the grieving.

Through studies, we have learned that the brain has three areas that work to process grief. What was found interesting about these three regions is that they also have been recognized as the areas that regulate both appetite and sleep. When people grieve their appetite and sleep are commonly affected. Grief occurs in the five stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Healing takes patience. It is important to understand that some healing can take longer than others and that there is no rush in the process of healing. Your feelings are real, and they should not be minimized. There are many support groups available to help you during your healing process. Do you know someone who is grieving? In what ways are they dealing with their grief?