HOW CAN WE EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH THIS NEW COVID-19 KIND OF GRIEF?
Acknowledge the losses you are facing from the fear and forced isolation. Intentionally attempt to embrace the grief that comes with those losses.
Process the losses. Some people process their grief internally through their thoughts. Others process their grief externally through their expressed feelings. Healthy grief always includes healthy processing.
If you need to process your grief by talking about it, find a counselor or support group that provides that opportunity.
Don’t “overdose” on the news about the pandemic. Intentionally limit your exposure to the trauma of news stories, deaths, personal accounts of loss, etc. Choose one or two sources of information you can trust and stay abreast of the situation by getting a daily update instead of receiving 24/7 news releases and information.
Stay in touch with your community of family and friends. Isolation can be crippling and lead to a place of deep depression. Force yourself to talk with at least one person each day by phone, Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, etc. It’s imperative to have community in the midst of the isolation.
Take all precautions to stay healthy and safe, including frequent hand washing, physical distancing from others and mask wearing.
I firmly believe that a burden comes with every blessing and a blessing comes with every burden. I think it’s the same for the pandemic if we translate what we are learning into lasting changes.
I hope the novelty and trauma of the pandemic doesn’t fade away so quickly for those not deeply affected by it that our society tries to return to the way we were before.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many things:
Value relationships and nurturing those relationships is priority.
We can live with much less and be happy.
What we thought was important, really isn’t.
Things we took for granted are now priceless.
We just aren’t that powerful.
We really can’t control much in our lives except how we respond to times like these.
Post 3 of a 4 Part Series