The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, historical and ongoing social injustices, and environmental disasters (CDC, 2020) have resulted in collective hurt. Many people are experiencing deep feelings of grief around loss: from the loss of family members or friends due to disease or violence, loss of normality or social support, or even loss of a home or living area. Whether you are managing your own personal grief or supporting others in your professional role it is important to explore these difficult emotions and strategies to cope.

What Is Loss?

Loss , or the fact or process of losing something or someone, can impact our physical and mental wellbeing, and can result in grieving (APA, 2020).

What Is Grief?

Grief is the response to loss and can take on a variety of emotions including shock, confusion, anger, and sadness. These emotions can prevent you from carrying out your daily activities and may even contribute to the formation of anxiety or depression. You may even self-isolate when grieving in an effort to numb yourself from the pain you may be feeling.

Coping with grief is essential to overcoming it (APA, 2020). You can choose to cope with grief in a way that is likely to promote overcoming adversity and resilience, such as journaling or talking to others, or in a way that is more likely to have maladaptive outcomes, such as socially isolating or engaging in substance misuse. Acknowledging when you're coping in a way that might be harmful and motivating yourself to cope in a more adaptive way, are the first steps towards working your way through the grieving process. If we don't cope effectively, you face the increased risk of mental disorders including substance use disorders, sleep disorders, and suicidal ideations (Shear, 2015).

Examples of coping strategies for grief include:

Grieving, or bereavement, is commonly thought of as an individual issue, but during times of great community stress, communal grief can also impact you. When social systems such as hospitals or schools falter, you can lose our sense of control (APA, 2020). This communal grief can worsen feelings of individual loss, if they're present.

There is no "normal" amount of time for grieving. If feelings of extreme sadness emerge, or if you're unable to function for a prolonged time as a result of your grieving process, you may consider accessing additional mental health resources or support from a professional mental health clinician.

It's important to recognize that grief and feelings of loss are temporary but can create lasting change. Loss can spur a new sense of meaning and can offer the opportunity to acknowledge those people and things most important to us. Remember that you are important, and make sure to take care of yourself and celebrate those around you.

References

Czeisler, M. É., Lane, R. I., Petrosky, E., Wiley, J. F., Christensen, A., Njai, R., Weaver, M. D., Robbins, R., Facer-Childs, E. R., Barger, L. K., Czeisler, C. A., Howard, M. E., & Rajaratnam, S. M. W. (2020). Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic—United States, June 24–30, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(32), 1049–1057. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1

Grief: Coping with the loss of your loved one. (n.d.). https://www.Apa.Org. Retrieved November 3, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/topics/grief

Shear, M. K. (2015). Complicated Grief. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(2), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcp1315618

Marmarosh, C. L. (2020). The psychology of the COVID-19 pandemic: A group-level perspective. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice; US: Educational Publishing Foundation. https://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000142