R. O. Kown wrote an article on April 9th in the New York Times entitled “Trouble Focusing? Not Sleeping? You May Be Grieving. It’s normal and natural to not be able to just go on as usual.” 

This opinion piece was about the feelings of grief she is experiencing during the time of isolation and uncertainty imposed by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

She clearly identified a number of grief reactions in herself as she experienced the stay at home order but more so on her thoughts about all that was going to change in her life and in the world, all that was or might be lost, in material things and plans, goals and futures not available as the reality of the change made everything so very uncertain in so very many ways.

Her article pointed out and was a description of things she believed were being felt and experienced not only by herself but also by people across the country and around the world. Her thought was that in America, where grief is a poorly understood and rarely discussed topic, that the general public is left with little or no information about what it is, what it feels like and what it does to one as it cascades through their minds and bodies. 

I just want to point out to anyone who finds their way to this blog, that grief has a large number of common components across all the possible types of grieving we may find ourselves experiencing. Although this site is mainly written about spouse and partner bereavement, much of what is in here about the general nature of grief and ways to understand and cope with it is very much cogent to the broader topic of Grief in what ever situation it is attached to. 

If you are feeling grief, if the changing and uncertain world situation has brought you to feelings of sadness and loss emotionally and physically, if you can find support and hope and perhaps healing from what is written here, I hope you will do so and allow what we’ve learned to help you navigate that grief and the sense of loss and confusion that accompany it. If you are feeling overwhelmed by your feelings of grief and loss, I urge you to contact a professional grief counsellor and allow them to help you to understand what you are experiencing.

Howard

Thanks to Carrie for sharing the article…

April 13, 2020