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Grief - The Other Pandemic

Writer's picture: Julie BaileyJulie Bailey

COVID19 is not the only pandemic we are currently experiencing. There is also a pandemic of grief, and it is not only because we are grieving the deaths of those we love, but also because we are grieving all the other losses we’ve experienced as well. Additionally, COVID has greatly complicated our grief processes.


Understanding Grief

When we think of grief, we think about mourning the deaths of people we love. During our grief process, we are faced with accepting the reality of losing that person, which can be especially challenging if their death was sudden or unexpected. We’re also flooded with a variety of emotions that can be very intense and confusing. You might feel a strange combination of sadness, anger, or even fear. Grief is experienced differently by different people, but working through that thunderstorm of emotions is necessary for all of us.


Sometimes we try to avoid dealing with our emotions when we lose someone. We might just bottle up our feelings and try to ignore them. We might believe that we need to keep it together so we can be strong for everyone else. We might be uncomfortable crying or showing emotion in front of others. Or we might be in a crisis situation where it would be unsafe to be emotional — like a soldier in a combat zone or a nurse or doctor who needs to be able to keep treating other patients. Regardless of the reason, when we avoid dealing with our grief, it is called inhibited grief.

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