Musings | Grief and COVID
““We are all dealing with the collective loss of the world we knew”.”
This week, we turn our attention to a more serious topic – the processing of the collective loss of our lives before the pandemic. While, without question, our lives have largely been placed on pause, we have still been “busy” adapting to our new set of circumstances. Given the speed at which that adaptation occurred or is occurring, we may not have had time to process all that has happened to us fully. Some of you may be experiencing an underlying or omnipresent sense of uneasiness. To steal from the Harvard Business Review, “that discomfort you’re feeling is grief.” Some of you may be experiencing grief from a recent loss on top of the collective grief we feel as a society. Below are a series of resources to help everyone manage grief, whether it is felt as a result of the collective loss of the world we knew or due to the loss of a person, pet, or important opportunity in your life. Each resource includes a brief description so that you can choose to access the ones you feel will be of most value.
The Collective Grief We Feel
A story found at verywellmind.com notes, “The disruptions in the normal routines and rhythms of everyday life contribute to the lingering unease and sadness that we are all feeling. Not only are we mourning the loss of thousands of lives, but we are also mourning the loss of normalcy, from seeing our co-workers to engaging in the mundane routines that we previously took for granted.” The entire article helps us understand our collective grief, and it can be viewed here.
“We are all dealing with the collective loss of the world we knew,” in this insightful 45-minute podcast, Brené Brown speaks with David Kessler, grief expert, as they explore grief, loss, and finding meaning. Their discussion speaks to grief in general and touches on the collective grief the world is presently experiencing.
“That discomfort you’re feeling is grief,” is an article from the Harvard Business Review that outlines that we may be feeling many different types of grief – loss of routine, loss of opportunity, loss of connection and loss of normal and all of those feelings are ok.
Making sense of lost opportunities. This article shares elite athletes' perspective as they process the loss of the opportunity to compete at the 2020 Olympics and in their 2020 competitive seasons.
Grieving During Covid
Mourning loss during a pandemic presents unique challenges when our ability to cope is already maxed out. Wired.com provides information and guidance on grieving and supporting others during a pandemic in their article of the same name here.
Rolling Stone lends insight into grieving during a pandemic when nothing is normal in the story you can access here.
David Kessler, grief expert (featured in the podcast noted above), hosts a website with great resources and tools, including a free online grief group that was started due to COVID-19.
This article, a quick read from The Harvard Business Review, is not about grief. Still, it provides great guidelines on how we can be empathetic and supportive of each other during this time by being curious.
Resources
Everyone grieves in their own way, and the five stages of grief are not linear. Allow yourself to feel what you are feeling; if you cannot name it, you cannot feel it. Acknowledge that on some level, you are likely experiencing grief.
Be kind to yourself, compassion for yourself and others is important through this time. There are great resources available at self-compassion.org.
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