"How could I return to ordinary life after my son died? My grief was overwhelming, spilling into every task and coloring every interaction. Condolences triggered fresh crying jags. I wondered how my eyes could produce so many tears. Over time, however, my work began to draw me in again, demanding that I return to the scientific questions that had defined my career."
"Yet underlying these tasks was a persistent internal dialogue that haunted me. Why hadn't I been able to save him? What biological mechanisms made him so relentlessly ill? Could more effective treatments have altered the outcome? Gradually, these questions redirected the focus of my work, one that I continue to pursue. Having long studied the neurobiology of major depression, I began to concentrate on developing new treatments for bipolar disorder, the illness that had claimed my son's life."
Grief after a family death can be overwhelming and can affect every task and interaction. Professional responsibilities and the discipline of research can gradually reassert themselves and restore routine. Persistent internal questions about preventability and biological mechanisms can redirect research toward illnesses linked to the loss. Research focus shifted toward developing faster, more effective treatments for bipolar disorder and addressing suicide among severely ill patients as a critical unmet need. Neurobiological research examines altered brain structure, dysfunctional circuit connections, and the effects of stress hormones using neuroimaging correlated with clinical symptoms and histories.
Read at Psychology Today
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