Healing From Grief & Loss | Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor

About this video

Huberman speaks with Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, who directs a grief, loss and social stress laboratory, about grief as a natural response to loss rather than simply an emotion. Dr. O’Connor distinguishes grief, the feeling in a given moment, from grieving, the way that feeling changes over time. Huberman explains that her work frames grief through attachment, with dopamine-linked yearning central to the process, and that moving through grief involves acknowledging both protest, the refusal to let go, and despair. Dr. O’Connor argues that bereavement is medically risky, citing epidemiological evidence of much higher all-cause mortality in newly bereaved people, and compares grief to pregnancy: natural and not a disease, yet physiological and deserving of systems of care. She describes a small proof-of-concept study, explicitly not a clinical trial, in which baby aspirin given soon after a loved one’s death appeared cardioprotective, and urges building a broad toolkit of strategies for waves of grief.

Key takeaways

• Dr. O’Connor distinguishes grief as a momentary feeling from grieving as the process by which it changes over time.
• Huberman explains Dr. O’Connor’s view that dopamine-driven yearning, rooted in attachment, is central to grief.
• Dr. O’Connor argues protest and despair both have to be acknowledged to move through grief.
• Dr. O’Connor cites evidence that newly bereaved people face much higher all-cause mortality risk.
• Dr. O’Connor describes aspirin after bereavement only as proof-of-concept work, not medical advice.

Episode details: published June 2, 2025 · 240.9K views · 2:32:36 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. The science and protocols described are Andrew Huberman’s, presented for education — not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your own health practices.

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