You Don’t Have to Face This Alone. On Grief and COVID-19.
Grief and COVID-19 have more in common than we might want to admit.
Both come uninvited. Both disrupt everything we thought was stable. Both isolate us, make us vulnerable, and can snatch someone we love without warning. Both arrive with no regard for timing and no clear path through.
Many of us were already carrying grief before the pandemic arrived. The loss of a person, a job, a relationship, a version of the future we had counted on. And then onto that already tender ground came something new and overwhelming, bringing with it a whole new set of losses and a whole new layer of uncertainty.
The questions that keep coming
You probably recognize some of these:
Is it safe to go out? Can the kids go back to school? Will I keep my job? When does this end? What does normal even look like anymore?
These questions don’t have clean answers. And living in that uncertainty, week after week, takes a toll that is real and worth naming.
What grief and COVID-19 feel like
Confusion. Anger. Bargaining. Denial. Depression. These emotions don’t follow a schedule. They show up like a tornado, just when you thought you had things under control. That is true of grief. It is equally true of navigating a pandemic. There is no rhyme or reason to the timing. There is only the feeling, arriving when it does, asking to be acknowledged.
You don’t have to carry this alone
Five years ago, when a colleague was navigating the death of her mother, a quiet act of kindness changed everything. Every Thursday night, the mechanic who had worked on her mother’s car showed up with a hot meal. He never stayed long. He just stopped by to say: I care.
That is what community looks like in hard times. It doesn’t have to be grand. It just has to show up.
If you are carrying grief right now, pandemic-related or otherwise, support is available. Counselors are here. Support groups exist. And the people in your life want to show up for you, even if they don’t always know how to say so.
Reach out. Let them. And if you need professional support, our clinicians at Holistic Consultation are here.
Want to learn more or schedule? Book a free 10-minute call with our Intake Coordinator or reach out through our contact page.