How has COVID disrupted the grieving process?

COVID- 19 has had a huge impact on our lives. During the pandemic, some of us have said goodbye to loved ones. We also mourned the deaths of well-known personalities and strangers who lost their lives. Undoubtedly, the death toll during the pandemic has brought many of us grief and sorrow. Here’s a look at how COVID-19 has impacted grieving.

 When we grieve, we often need activities that keep us engaged in a healthy way. However, due to the pandemic, many of us stayed home in quarantine. This ruptured our daily routine: since we couldn’t go outside so often, we had to give up many of the daily activities we used to do. We could not meet with friends and share our grief, or go to the theaters to watch a movie. This added feelings of social isolation to the already immense grief that we were dealing with. The need for social distancing during the pandemic also meant that many of us would not have access to in-person social support groups. These factors have made it even more difficult to manage grief as we are restricted to our homes.

Moreover, to keep the disease from spreading, most hospitals did not allow many visitors inside. Due to these restrictions, a majority of people could not meet their loved ones who were sick, even for a goodbye. As a result, their grief carries a deep sense of guilt with it because they could not be with their loved one in their final moments. They also feel a sense of bitterness and lack of closure as they couldn’t properly say goodbye. Such feelings have intensified people’s grief during the pandemic. 

In light of this, it’s clear that grieving during a pandemic is especially difficult. It is crucial to find healthy and enjoyable activities you can engage yourself in whenever you feel that you need a break or a recreational activity to lighten your mood. At the same time, it is also important to accept the grief and process it, not simply distract yourself from it. Share and discuss your feelings with people you are comfortable with. To find some peace of mind, practice meditation and try to minimize your media consumption especially right before or after sleep. It is also important to seek help from mental health professionals as you process your grief.

Eventually, you will be able to make peace with it as you start to accept the reality of the loss while also celebrating the life your loved one lived.

— Akshita Goswami