We’ve all read the stories or had a personal experience with not being allowed to see loved ones who are in the hospital, a nursing home, or assisted living facility. Especially heart wrenching is not being able to gather around when a loved one is dying or to honor them afterward.
For some people, the grief that COVID-19 has wrought is painfully apparent. Serious illness, death, unemployment, isolation, severe anxiety, depression. But even people who seem to be doing ok are feeling grief. Dr. Katie Eastman, a psychotherapist, says right now everyone, including her, is grieving the loss of something or someone.
Do you ever have feelings that you don’t know how or what to name? For instance, you miss the way life used to be before COVID-19. You worry about what the future holds. But what are you feeling? Sadness? Anxiety? Fear? Yes, to all but you may also be experiencing grief, something Beth Dolloff understands all too well.
Why is it that when a patient dies, loved ones may never hear from the doctor or other members of the medical team? Even when the patient is under treatment and has a close bond with the team. It happened to this Maine woman and it made her so angry she decided to share her story.
This is a story retold on the anniversary of my father’s death. It’s about love, lessons, and grieving.
Have you ever wanted to say something to someone who is grieving but don’t? You can’t find the right words so you say nothing. In the final segment of Living with Grief, we get some loving words of advice from several people who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
The definition of grief is deep sorrow, but not all people feel it when a significant person in their life dies. They may feel relief, sadness about what never was, shame, anger, guilt, or nothing at all. In part four of Living with Grief, we talk about such feelings and what is called disenfranchised grief.
John and Gloria Tewhey had been together close to 60 years when she was diagnosed with leukemia. The end of this month marks the first anniversary of her death. It’s been a difficult year for the whole family. John shares their story in part three of Living with Grief.
Jackie Conn’s husband Tim died February 18, 2018, after suffering a massive stroke. They were always there for each other. Now she often feels as if she’s drifting. I don’t even know who I am anymore, she told me. Jackie shares her story in part two of Living with Grief.
Grief is a natural response to loss and yet how we react can feel anything but normal. We worry that we’re doing it wrong, taking too long, crying too much, feeling too numb. As we’ll find out in Part One of a special series on Living with Grief, there is no right or wrong way to grieve.
