Grief can have repercussions beyond the emotional toll. There is growing evidence that sadness is linked to an increased risk of conditions ranging from heart disease and cancer to memory problems, digestive problems and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Just this month, researchers discovered that bereaved parents are at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation, in which the heart beats irregularly and increases the risk of stroke.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who looked at data from parents of more than 800,000 children born between 1973 and 2016, concluded that bereaved families “may receive more support from loved ones and health professionals”. “A broken heart breaks the heart,” is dr. Dang Wei, an epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute.
“We found that individuals who lost a close family member (eg, a child, partner, parent, sibling) had a higher risk of atrial fibrillation, heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, and heart failure than those who who didn’t have it. so done. a close relative,” he told Good Health.
This follows a study published last year in the journal JAMA Network Open, which found that losing a parent as an adult increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
There is increasing evidence that grief is associated with an increased risk of physical ailments
The study, based on a million people in Sweden and Denmark, found that bereavement-related deaths led to a 41 percent increased risk of heart disease – the risk was highest in the first three months after the loss – and a 30 percent increased risk of heart disease heart disease exhibited disease heart disease. Heart attack.
The researchers found the correlation independent of the parent’s cause of death (ie, there was no genetic link to the parent’s heart problem causing the offspring’s heart problem).
The explanation for this association is that grief “can manifest itself as stress on the body, organ systems and the immune system,” says Dr. Steven Allder, a consultant neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, a private clinic in London that researches the effects of emotion on trauma in the brain.
“Perhaps this explains why people get sick during the mourning period,” he adds.
“The strong and painful emotions evoked by the loss of a loved one – possibly combined with a lack of sleep and a healthy routine – are interpreted by the brain as a stressful situation and cause the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, causing a fight. .” arises. Or-flight response in the body.”
While this stress response is designed to help us escape imminent danger, a chronic state of stress can cause inflammation, which in turn can damage the immune system. This makes you more susceptible to recurrent infections, as well as autoimmune diseases, where the immune system launches an attack on the body, leading to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Cortisol’s effects are wide-ranging: “It can disrupt the normal functioning of every system in the body, including blood sugar regulation, metabolic function and memory,” says Dr. all of them This is because cortisol suppresses non-essential functions like your digestion.
Meanwhile, the release of adrenaline causes the body to increase heart and breathing rates.
Adrenaline rushes are thought to cause heart damage and may be associated with what is known as broken heart syndrome (or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy), in which the muscle in the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber, suddenly weakens.
Because the left ventricle cannot contract, the bottom of the ventricle bulges outward.
It often occurs after a death and around 90 percent of sufferers are women aged 50 or over, resulting in one in 20 dying in hospital. In survivors, the heart’s shape and ability to pump usually return to normal within three months, but many have long-term problems such as pain, rapid heart rate and shortness of breath.
The time most at risk of experiencing a grief-related health problem is in the first three months after a loss, especially of a spouse, says Dr. all of them
When Linda Aitchison lost her partner of 16 years and the father of their then 13-year-old twin daughters in May 2016, her health rapidly deteriorated. Neil, a BBC journalist, died of malignant melanoma aged just 44.
One study found that those who lost a close family member (eg, a child, partner, parent, sibling) had a higher risk of heart problems
Within a week, distraught with grief, Linda was in pain and pain and pain. Two weeks after his death, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and then whooping cough. She also contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized overnight with an irregular heartbeat.
“I know now that grief did this to me,” she says. “I remember feeling the sadness of sadness as if it were something physical,” recalls Linda (54), a writer from Wolverhampton.
“I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat healthy. I got terrible whooping cough – twice a month. It turned into pneumonia and I couldn’t breathe. I felt my whole body being closed.
Doctors also diagnosed an irregular heartbeat that eventually resolved on its own.
Then, in 2017, disaster struck again when Linda’s best friend – her “rock” after the death of Neil – died very suddenly of lung cancer.
Again, Linda’s physical health suffered – her blood pressure skyrocketed, she caught every bug and gained weight. “I looked terrible and felt terrible,” she says.
While some people benefit from grief counseling, another, perhaps more surprising, tool to help with grief is exercise.
A study published in BMC Public Health in January, which involved people who had experienced the death of a parent between the ages of 10 and 24, found that physical activity helped to “mitigate the effects of grief and building resilience”.
Linda found the free bereavement counseling provided by NHS hospices helpful. She started doing it soon after Neil’s death and picked it up again after her friend died. As her grief became more manageable, she was able to regain a healthy weight by eating well, swimming and walking in the fresh air.
“People think grief is just an emotional thing, but I believe we are one whole – our bodies, minds and hearts – and grief can really take a toll on our bodies,” she says.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
