The COVID-19 pandemic has not only complicated grief from death of a family member, it may also cause new forms of loss for people, complicating grief even further. The new booklet Grieving Alone and Together, by certified Thanatologist Sara Murphy, Ph.D., CT, shares the following information and much more to provide help for complicated Grief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Traumatic Loss
Losing a loved one in the midst of this pandemic is considered a traumatic experience. It doesn’t matter whether they died from the coronavirus or any other cause of death. If you lose someone suddenly, or you were not able to be with them while they were dying, your grief responses are complicated by the traumatic nature of the loss.
Ambiguous Losses
Many people do not realize that we are all experiencing non-death losses at this time. These non-death losses are ambiguous losses. Some may be concrete and easy to identify, such as financial or employment insecurity and lack of social interaction. Other losses might be harder to recognize, like no longer having the comfort of our normal routines or freedom of movement in public spaces.
Separated From Your Loved Ones at Death
If you were unable to be with your loved one while they were sick or could not be with them when they died, you may feel robbed or cheated of time with them in their end-of-life moments. Being separated from family and close friends complicates your ability to deal with the feelings of grief. Your grief responses may include feelings of helplessness and powerlessness if you believe that your individual loss is not being acknowledged, validated, or treated with care. Here are steps to take to reduce these effects:
- ASK for support from the friends and family who will respect and listen to your individual grief experiences without giving you unsolicited advice
- Plan memorials and tributes to your loved one, both now and in the future, that will help you feel recognized and acknowledged in your grief
Planning Funeral and Memorial Services
Funeral and memorial services are central to our grieving experiences. When we experience a death, the funeral ritual is often the first and most important way in which we give and receive support, affirm our relationship with the deceased, honor the life that has ended, and begin to transition to a changed life for ourselves. Funerals serve many important psychological, social, and spiritual purposes. We are used to having choices in planning funerals to fulfill those purposes. Even with restrictions due to the pandemic, you still have choices and options to plan a service – or services – that will help you and your family as you begin your mourning processes. Pray Funeral Home has strategies for planning services. We have the ability to provide webcasting or to record services. other options you have are
- Collecting written remarks from family and friends via email and reading them at a private service
- Using memorialization pages on individual’s Tribute Pages on our website at www.PrayFuneral.Tributes, our Pray Funeral Home’s Facebook page, or social media of friends and family to share tributes and memories of the deceased
The booklet also outlines steps to help
Supporting Your Health While Grieving
Taking steps that value your physical and emotional health is crucial while working through the early days and weeks of your loss during this pandemic. Some strategies include: More guidance to anyone who has experienced any form of loss is contained in the book
Grieving Alone and Together by certified Thanatologist Sara Murphy, Ph.D., CT.. To help you understand these losses and how to cope during these difficult and isolating times, Pray Funeral Home is making Grieving Alone and Together available as a free ebook. It can be downloaded either from the link above, or through
PrayFuneral.com/resources