How To Process Grief Caused By COVID-19 (Even If You Didn't Lose Someone)

Alexandra Bowman for HuffPost Bent Not Broken is a look back on the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has disrupted our mental health, plus advice on how to manage our well-being moving forward. “Grief is a reaction to loss and not all loss is about death,” said Marianne Trent, a clinical psychologist and author of “The Grief Collective: Stories of Life, Loss & Learning to Heal.” “There’s no such thing as a grief hierarchy, grief is grief.” Seeking out a therapist can help you to work through feelings of grief. Trent said that COVID-19 check-ins are part of every session, and “pandemic grief and loss is now a feature of each client’s therapeutic work either as a standalone referral, or in addition to their original presenting problems.” Victoria Goldenberg, a licensed clinical social worker who works with the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, explained that processing through grief in therapy often means sitting with both the welcomed memories and feelings, as well as the uncomfortable or downright painful moments. “Expressing your feelings is a large component of the grief process,” said Lindsay Lederman, the clinical director of The Art Therapy Project. “We are all just doing our best to get through each day with the resources we have.” - Marianne Trent As Lederman explained, grief can often leave you in “autopilot mode,” but “taking the time to sit, feel your feelings and do something you need for yourself is a small thing you can do to support the grief process.” Studies have debunked the popular idea that someone will neatly go through the five stages of grief, which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.