Sunday, March 29, 2020

Caregiving, Grief & Pet Loss, March 22 - March 28, 2020

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Whether this virus took the life a friend or family member, took away your wedding, your support system, your job, your long-anticipated vacation, your liberty, or your sense of security, your losses are valid and deserving of your grief. So, how do we respond? What can we do? Global Grief of COVID-19https://j.mp/2UN3qse « Grief Compass

The coronavirus pandemic highlights how much we need to have conversations about end-of-life care: It’s Time to Talk About Death, https://j.mp/39sMDQy « The New York Times

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been flooded with emails, comments, and DMs from people sharing that in this current crisis their grief feels worse. The list of reasons is long and the list of accompanying questions is even longer: 8 Reasons Your Grief Feels Worse Right Nowhttps://j.mp/3bnn7Oa « What's Your Grief?

Ambiguous loss happens when you’re not entirely sure who or what you’ve lost. It’s different than the grief you experience when someone you love dies. That kind of loss is finite and certain, and there’s no question you should feel pain: In a World Filled With Loss, Who Gets to Grieve? https://j.mp/3bzr8Pp « What's Your Grief?

Now, with the uncertain times concerning our health and stability, you may be feeling oddly uneasy. This is grief too. Here is a condensed, four-part process to help you work through what you may be experiencing to reconnect to the peace within yourself: Reconnect to peace... https://j.mp/2Jn14LC « Shine On: Inspiration from Chelsea Hanson

The physical separations are intended to protect our physical health. However, the two of us and many of our colleagues in mental health think the unintended emotional and relational consequences of all of this “social distancing” will be much deeper and wider unless we recognize the risk and take action: Unintended Consequences of #COVID-19, https://j.mp/39oBQH8
« GriefPerspectives

The idea of quarantine is hard and foreign because it goes against our human nature. When stress and anxiety hit we want to be together. It seems in this pandemic, the way we are “together” is by being united in our safety efforts which is lovely, but lonely: Funerals in a Time of Quarantinehttps://j.mp/2WG8aTg « O'Connor Mortuary

What a terrible time to face the usual challenges of bereavement when you are being told to stay home! In recent years there has been a trend to hold a very small, immediate family only burial or cremation service followed by a memorial service at a later date. This might be the year to consider this, although certain cultures might find this in contradiction to their ritual observances. Sunset Funeral Homes in Illinois has devised this plan for its funerals: Grieving and Coronavirus, https://j.mp/2JdJAkL « AfterTalk

Anticipatory mourning begins as soon as we become aware that death may happen. It begins when a life-threatening illness is diagnosed or a terminal prognosis is given, we understand that there is no cure, and we realize that death is likely or inevitable: Anticipatory Grief and Mourning, http://bit.ly/2Bt6543 « Grief Healing

COVID-19 has created an environment that may lead many to suffer from more profound or complicated grief. In this atmosphere, I urge those who are facing losing a loved one from a distance to reach out for professional support now to address the anticipatory grief and to process the added complexity ahead of the loss: How do we mourn when forced apart? A crisis wrapped inside the coronavirus crisishttps://j.mp/2WDHRgk « New York Daily News

Thousands of moms and dads . . . will now be sharing the home office with their children, whose schools, colleges and universities were ordered closed last Monday. [While] social distancing is the best tool officials have to combat the spread of coronavirus  COVID-19 [and] health experts hope the moves ultimately save lives, the sudden changes to life as we knew it . . .  come at a cost: The Grief and Loss of Working From Homehttps://j.mp/3beuO9c
« TAPinto.net

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a collective loss of normalcy. [Grief expert David] Kessler shared his thoughts on why it’s important to acknowledge the grief you may be feeling, how to manage it, and how he believes we will find meaning in it: That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief, https://j.mp/2wvVTGi « Harvard Business Review

When a pet is ill and the cost of a pet's medication or surgery clashes with family vacation plans or an opportunity for a child to go to summer camp, how can a pet owner make a responsible decision?  How do they make peace with their decision if it doesn't favor the animal? Pet Loss: Why Surrender An Animal To A Shelter? https://j.mp/2y3MuGr « Grief Healing

This program consists of an informative intro, followed by a guided meditation that first encourages deep relaxation (a receptive state that in and of itself encourages wellness, but also produces a profound receptivity to hearing the intense, muscular, protective imagery that follows, and the suggestions for behavioral change that suit dealing with a pandemic. The affirmations restate the basic themes, inspire and support: Take That Corona Virus! New Anti-Viral Guided Imagery Is Here! https://j.mp/3dxpcZH

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