Saturday, April 4, 2020

Grief in the time of COVID


My neighbour's mom just died. I don't believe her death was COVID-related, but my neighbour opened up to me that this experience has her reflecting on the importance of rituals. 

We've all seen a few social media posts about weddings that have gone ahead with limited guests, or funerals with only one or two mourners... but what is the long-term impact of the normally social rituals having to change so drastically? Specific to grief - what does the loss of death rituals mean for those who are experiencing grief? 

And in a professional context, what does grief look like in a remote-work environment? How do we support a peer, employee, or supervisor dealing with grief without the standard rituals by which to frame these? The longer that this pandemic continues, this too will have to be revised and redefined. The more deaths that happen while we're all isolated will mean we have to call on compassion and empathy in ways we've never imagined... it's time to get creative. 

Stay well, friends. 


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