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It has been known for some time that grief can go beyond its emotional toll and cause physical health problems.
But what about the very specific pain caused by the loss of a parent in childhood?
Dr Sohom Das is a London-based forensic psychiatrist who also shares mental health and other related content on YouTube.
In a recent video on his channel A Psych for Sore Minds, he addressed the topic of what can happen to children who lose a parent to death.
She said in her video that this type of grief can cause a variety of negative emotions, including anxiety and depression.
About five percent of children lose a parent before reaching adulthood, according to psychiatrist Dr. Sohom Das (file image)
The video is titled The Effect of Losing a Parent Before Parenthood and also includes statistics on how many children lose their parents.
“About five percent of young people lose a parent before reaching adulthood, which is actually surprisingly high, higher than I expected,” he said in the video.
The psychiatrist continued: ‘Early parental loss is associated with negative outcomes.
‘[These can include] anxiety, depressionprolonged grief reaction and negative effects on self-esteem and sense of self.’
Negative outcomes can continue into adulthood, he explained.
Dr Das said: “There is also an increased risk of future suicide and substance abuse.”
He explained that it can also affect relationships in the future.
According to Dr. Das in the video: “It can even affect how a child approaches adult relationships in terms of bonds and emotions.”
His video relates to a study published in March 2023, where researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analyzed grief.
According to Dr. Dang Wei, an epidemiologist at Karolinska Institutet who participated in the study: “We found that people who lost a close family member (for example, a child, a partner, a parent, a sibling) had higher risks of atrial fibrillation , heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, and heart failure than those who had not lost a close family member.
Likewise, she said parents who lose a child are at risk for many of the same negative health outcomes.
The scientists analyzed data from the parents of more than 800,000 children born between 1973 and 2016 and concluded that bereaved parents “may benefit from greater support from family members and health professionals.”
Dr. Dang Wei said his simple conclusion is: “[A] A broken heart breaks the heart.’
Other conditions he listed included an increased risk of heart disease and cancer to memory problems, digestive problems and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Sohom Das can be found at Twitter, instagramand Tik Tokas well as YouTube.
