Oh No! I Feel Like I’m Grieving Everything All At Once (Even If It’s Not A Death)
Well, here we are. We are over a month into the coronavirus pandemic, in social isolation at home and even, when possible, working remotely from wherever works best in your living space.
I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who does not know at least ONE person who is dying or has died a COVID 19 or COVID-related death.
However, each of us in some way – small or large – are grieving our own losses.
Here are some of them:
Loss of structured daily routine
Loss of employment
Loss of income
Loss of ability to source desired and needed foods
Loss of physical touch with others
Loss of long-term planning (career, school, educational programs, travels)
Loss of relationships
Loss of self-esteem
Loss of ambition and accomplishment
Loss of physical activity
Loss of vitamin D, found in fresh air!
Loss of body image (too many days without accountability for appearance)
Loss of neighborhood (buildings shuttered)
Loss of community interaction
Loss of cultural stimulations (theater, arts, lectures, cinema)
Loss of privacy (confined in close quarters in same space)
Loss of support system (friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives in close contact)
Loss of freedom to engage in outside activities
Loss of ability to seek medical attention for non-pandemic conditions
Loss of ease of access to major supplies (masks, gloves, hand sanitizers)
AND THE LIST GOES ON ….
What are your losses and how are you handling them?
As a grief counselor in private practice working with bereaved children AND adults, I want to make sure that you do your best to HONOR THESE LOSSES. You don’t have to excuse them or diminish them. THEY ARE YOURS, AND THEY ARE REAL.
And times like this call for a Radical Acceptance of the fact that all of the components and manifestations of this pandemic are OUT OF YOUR CONTROL OR ANYONE ELSE’S.
The best we can do for now is to “stay put” by practicing social distancing and surrender to the truth. One thing we know for sure, is … that this COVID 19 virus has a mind of its own and battles anyone in the path of its route.
Can grief counseling help you processes covid-related losses?
