What a Pandemic Does to Grief

Pandemic stress has a psychological component that affects people in many ways. That includes those who are grieving. Normally, after the death of a loved one, the world seems to stop for those left behind. Grief isolates and provides a period for processing loss. Grief after traumatic circumstances — devastating illness or injury; sudden death that leaves no time to say goodbye; murder; suicide; man-made or natural disasters that take many lives — adds complex layers. But what happens to those who are grieving during a pandemic, a traumatic horror in itself? With so many deaths around us from COVID-19 and the deaths that would occur even without the pandemic, how are these sorrows mourned? Is grief itself changed because of what is going on now? The most obvious answer centers on how loved ones die from the virus and what restrictions govern the custom of families gathering for comfort and funerals. Dying alone or in hospital but unable to be surrounded by family members, the need for careful handling of bodies in often limited space, and a limit on how and when services can be held as well as who may attend has changed the oldest customs we have. Medical workers are trying to fill in the gap, taking on the role of “family” as best they can. Connecting through technology can help, but these changes are enormous and very difficult to bear. Deaths from other causes and terminal diagnoses continue whether we have a declared emergency or not. Families may not liv...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Grief and Loss Bereavement coronavirus COVID-19 grieving pandemic social distancing traumatic experience Source Type: blogs