I heard a song on the radio the other day that brought back a memory – something I remember being said about a family member.
‘She died from a broken heart’
These are some of my Mum’s family taken about 1940 during WW2. An aunt, a brother in uniform, some cousins and their children All hoping things will change and they can go on living the way they used to. Of course we all know it was quite a few years before that happened.
Mum’s cousin on the right (known to me as Aunty Lena) was married to a naval officer who was on submarines. When he and all aboard were lost at sea in 1942 she became a young widow with a young child and did as all widows at that time had to do – put on a brave face and get on with it. She died in 1951 aged 44.
Even though I was only 9 at the time I can clearly remember family saying:-
‘Never mind what the death certificate says, we all know she died from a broken heart’
As an aside, you occasionally hear of people dying not long after traumatic events (the loss of husbands/wives/partners or other family) and I have often wondered and maybe you have also if that could actually be true – not the dying but the broken heart bit 😊
Well, it seems there could be some truth in the saying after all.
This article popped up on a website I subscribe to – it and others I’ve discovered suggest it is possible in some cases to Die from a Broken Heart. Fairly close to the trauma that is but it didn’t say it couldn’t happen or wasn’t possible 9yrs later.
It would be sentimentaly nice to think Aunty Lena died of a broken heart and not from complications after a bout of pneumonia.
What Musical Memories do you have on this Monday ?
Linking to Mel’s MicroBflog Monday
Still Waters 
Oh yes! I do believe you CAN die of a broken heart. I know my aunt gave up on living after her daughter died. She was the strongest of three sisters and she died of a stroke. My great grandmother died a month after her husband passed away.
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It must be so hard on families Kay when there are losses so close to each other. No rhyme or reason for some of them.
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I always count myself lucky to have lived when I have, with no wars and having plenty of everything. I just hope that it can continue for my children and grandchildren. It must have been so awful for those in the war. I think the only good thing was that people pulled together and were more friendly then.
Briony
x
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Yes Briony my mother and father’s generation went through ordeals I can’t even imagine. Reading and hearing family talk about it reinforced in me the idea of helping others who are in need because you might be in need yourself one day.
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I too have heard of this saying also and I had heard the saying I laughed so hard I died and I read an article about this you can actually laugh so hard you can’t breath and pass out or die.
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I’ve heard that saying as well Germaine but didn’t realise there was a grain of truth in it. Looks like I’ll be asking Mr G some questions later.
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I definitely think you can. I suspect she went along as long as she did for her child’s sake.
They definitely were the greatest generation. Suffered so much
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Looks that way doesn’t it Angela – physical and emotional torment takes it out on the body.
Yes, we have a lot to thank my parent’s generation for.
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That was such a cool song! Nice memory! I would suppose a broken heart could take however long before it killed you. I have heard of old couples who died within days or even hours from each other.
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And what a memory Sharon – I was singing along to it when my mind went off on another tangent. I could hear adults voices talking just like it was yesterday and I saw Aunty Lena so clearly I began to wonder if I wasn’t hallucinating.
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I saw a very similar article. It made a heap of sense to me. In one of my earlier jobs I interacted with age pensioners and saw how often that a long married couple would die within days of each other.
And yet some people survive what seems to me to be almost unimaginable trauma…
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You do wonder about the effect of horrendous events don’t you EC. I wonder if these physical changes (mentioned in the article) take place in the body because emotional ties are involved rather than just being in a traumatic situation? The scientists will have the answers I’m sure.
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I wonder if people stop eating properly, don’t rest properly etc and it affects their immune system.
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Andrew, quite probably – maybe if it’s the man who has died, the woman feels it’s silly to cook dinner, when only she will be eating it – such a waste to have to bin the other plate…and they start down the toast/tea route.
I can’t imagine that occurring in my family/friends – but i guess it happens.
Cathy, a lot of people died after WW1 from the influenza epidemic – my namesake young aunt died in her early 20s. Maybe she didn’t get the flu’ maybe she had a beau who perished…
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I’m sure anything is possible Andrew – the article suggested physical changes to heart muscles but your thoughts could come into play as well a general weakening of all bodily functions.
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Memories..great minds think alike! Lovely post x
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😊😊
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I believe it is possible to die from a broken heart, the emotional stress is often severe, depending on what has happened. I’m heartbroken myself over the loss of my Angel, not knowing what has happened to him is the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I cry every day.
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I gave that link first to answer your question “What Musical Memories do you have on this Monday ?” My friend of 48 years, who was my wife for 40 of them died 8 years ago. It has not been easy without her but I have not yet died from a broken heart. I do have moments when I wish that I can.
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My husband and I saw a show last week which featured the music of Patsy Cline. The song Crazy is going through my mind today. Have a great week.
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The story goes…my great-aunt was a nurse and worked hard to put her spouse through law school. As soon as he graduated and opened his own law practice he divorced this aunt to marry his secret mistress. We only know that Aunt Edith died of a broken heart. I never heard it any other way.
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When lost the loved ones, one can only but image how painful it can be so may be it is indeed possible dying out of broken heart!
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That’s very interesting. Apart from the findings of the study, it makes sense to me that living with stress or sadness would lower your immune system and make you more susceptible to disease. My dad and his sister lived through war; it definitely marked them for life.
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I totally believe this too. Your body and mind just shut down one by one. Just like my uncle had a mild stroke at 92. He never had anything else wrong with him and even the stroke didn’t do much to him. My cousin (not his daughter. he never married or had kids) said to me at the hospital: “Do you think he’ll still be able to live alone when he goes home?” I said: “He’s not going home.” I knew that he was just done living. So even though all of his tests and vital signs etc were perfect, he died a few days later. He was just ready to move on.
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I think that dying from a broken heart might be true.
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Losing a loved one, in my experience, is like having a part of you suddenly amputated, movement through time is no longer familiar, it hurts. At best it is going from colour to grey scale. Depending on the context, I can understand that one might not go on, or want to go on, in such a painful state.
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