Death and Grief During a Pandemic

Collective Grief

When the death of a person affects many members in a community, city, country, or across the world, people will experience collective grief.

These are some things that can help people through the experience of collective grief across a community.

Kim – You can get through this

Kim talks about the difference between her Dad and her Mum’s death

Karyn and Aidan – Describing grief during the pandemic

Karyn and Aidan talk about how their grief has changed and the challenges they have faced grieving during a pandemic

Jean – Be good to yourself

Jean shares about support and not being hard on yourself

Jane – Grief and meditation

Jane shares how she practices daily meditation and how that helps her manage her thoughts and feelings.

Lynda – ‘Pandemic and triggers”

Lynda discusses how hard it is during the pandemic to avoid triggers

Jane – Sitting in our feelings

Jane – Sitting in our feelings

Jane shares how she has learned to be more present in her feelings while grieving during the pandemic.

Jane – Loneliness while processing grief

Jane talks about grieving without her extended family because of the pandemic and how that’s impacted things like scattering ashes and having celebrations of life.

Sunny- Processing Different Losses During the Pandemic

Jean – What grief feels like physically

Jean discusses the physical effects she has experienced in grief

Beauty found at the edges: a portrait of community support

I’d sent a text saying “Hello friends, I’m putting out a call for flowers. I went to public school with Kory, the young man who died in downtown Cobourg this week, and though I hadn’t seen him in recent years, I feel the loss of him on a community level, as I imagine you do, too. Some of Kory’s people are gathering tonight in vigil at the bank where he died, and I’m gathering flowers from those of us who have gardens to share with this grieving community. Do you have some blooms in your garden that you’d be willing to share?”

Sunny- Supporting My Grieving Mom