The Emotional Toll of Spousal Morbidity and Mortality

Widowhood and the risk of psychiatric care, psychotropic medication and all-cause mortality: A cohort study of 658,022 elderly people in Sweden

“…Earlier studies have shown decreased levels of wellbeing, and self-rated health as well as increased levels of prescribed psychotropic medication (Arens, 1982(Arens, -1983Bennett, 2006;Charlton, Sheahan, Smith, & Campbell, 2001;Krochalk, Li, & Chi, 2008). Research by Zivin and Christakis (2007) showed that the death of a spouse increased the risk of the partner developing depression and mental health or substance abuse disorders. Charlton et al (2001) showed increased use of medication for both physical and psychological illnesses following bereavement.…”

Caregiving in Dementia: From Resentment to Forgiveness

“…It is also generally the desire of the family members to keep the relative, spouse, or parent with them until death or at least for as long as possible. The end of intensive caregiving can in fact be a prelude to emotional disturbance and even mental breakdown in the carer (Zivin & Christakis, 2007), so managing the transition well is a crucial task for social and health care services. Throughout all these processes, maintaining the well-being, including most importantly the spiritual well-being, of the carer is paramount.…”

Neuropeptidergic regulation of pair-bonding and stress buffering: Lessons from voles

“…A significant number of humans grieving the loss of a family member or intimate partner experience long, and sometimes short - but intense - periods of post-traumatic stress, major depression, panic attacks, and generalized anxiety (Byrne & Raphael, 1999, Kristensen et al, 2012, Onrust & Cuijpers, 2006, Zivin & Christakis, 2007). Social-buffering serves as a potent anxiolytic, while social isolation, separation, or loss of a familiar conspecific predicts poor mental and physical health (Cohen & Wills, 1985, Flannery & Wieman, 1989, Heinrichs et al, 2003, Karelina & DeVries, 2011, Maulik et al, 2010, Smith & Wang, 2012, Smith, Lei, & Wang 2013), increasing the risk of developing debilitating psychological diseases (Byrne & Raphael, 1997, Elwert & Christakis, 2008a, Elwert & Christakis, 2008b, Kristensen et al, 2012, Onrust & Cuijpers, 2006, Rozenzweig et al, 1997, Zivin & Christakis, 2007). Previous clinical research has associated these mental health issues with dysregulation in OT, AVP, and CRH (Dinan et al, 1999, Meyer-Lindenberg et al, 2011, Pitman et al, 1993, Purba et al, 1996, Raadsheer et al, 1994).…”