Grief and the Brain.....

Grief takes up a lot of bandwidth in the brain.  Our brains respond to grief by suppressing emotions and memories that we are not able to process.  The stress of grieving will rewire the brain with what is called neuroplasticity.  The disruptions in the brain can lead to confusion, disorientation, detachment and increased forgetfulness.  With fMRI's researchers are finding that the prefrontal cortex is not functioning at its best.  This leads to us being disorganized and not as attentive.  Grief will stimulate key areas of the brain such as the amygdala, which is in charge of emotions and the intensity of a threat or if we are vulnerable.  Grief is also associated with the cerebellum, which helps us with coordination and balance.  Plus a cascade of other brain areas that are related to memory, emotions, impulses and sensory information.  The cerebral cortex is also affected, which helps us with emotional awareness and higher thought processes.   If there are triggers in the environment then we are continually stimulating the fight, flight or freeze response.  This is all related to the amygdala that can keep us in a constant state of arousal, and keep us from getting a good nights sleep. 
There are ways to get through this cycle of stress.  One is called immersion.  This is deliberately exposing yourself to difficult memories and emotions.  Why are they there?  What keeps them in the cycle of awareness?    Distraction is also a way to get yourself back into the game.  This is doing things that will keep you engaged with life and not stuck on the couch.

LENS neurofeedback will help the brain to heal from this and other traumas.