The COVID pandemic has introduced many of us to unsurmountable grief. Children are experiencing it earlier due to the loss of elderly grandparents or parents. No one has been immune. To date, I have experienced the loss of many individuals and closed friends that I cared about since March 2020.
Today, on March 10, 2021, approximately 537,000 people have died in the United States of America and about 2,625,774 worldwide. Many of those exposed have chronic health conditions, and many of us live in a state of constant fear for ourselves and our loved ones that are at high risk.
What is grief? It is our reaction when we lose someone or something precious to us. There are a range of emotions and feeling a person may experience. According to experts, there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Each one of us experiences grief differently or at a different stage of our grief.
What can we do when we feel a deep sense of loss and feel unable to deal with or accept the loss?
- Self-care. Take care of yourself by doing a few little things each day. Some days it might just be waking up and washing your face and changing out of your pajamas.
- Stay active. Exercise might redirect your focus.
- Allow yourself time to heal. Give yourself the time you need to heal emotionally. You might feel perfectly fine one minute, and you might cry the next. Just know that it is all part of the grieving process.
- Talk to someone. Check-in with a friend, family member, or acquaintance. Book an appointment with a therapist if you are struggling and need some professional help. Talk to your pastor. Please know that you are not alone.
- Find comfort in the word of God. In Psalm 147:3, we know that God can heal the brokenhearted and binds up our wounds. He has also promised us that “he will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” in Revelation 21:4. We have assurance in John 16:22 that “now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Helpful Resources
It’s Ok That You’re Not Okay (Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine
Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief by William Morrow