The endless grief of COVID-19’s death causing problems for some people

Kerry Brown’s 74-year-old father first became ill with COVID-19, and two days later his 71-year-old mother became ill. John and Judy Torzebiatowski died of the disease just every other week last August, sending Brown into a tunnel of endless black sorrow.

Health restrictions have removed things that usually help people deal with death, such as bedside visits. Wisconsin She said the hospital where they were treated and the big funeral of hugs and tears. As a result, Brown had to deal with her grief herself, and now she is having a hard time finding a way forward.

With more than 605,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States and nearly 4 million deaths worldwide, Brown may be experiencing prolonged grief for thousands of people. Usually again.

“That’s the scariest thing to experience,” Brown said. “I don’t want this from anyone.”

Sadness expert Natalia Skritskaya said it was too early to say whether long-term grief, also known as complex grief, would be a major complication of the pandemic. United States of America. Many mourners have not yet passed the first anniversary of their loss, and she said that few studies on psychiatric fallout have been published so far.

But prolonged grief is real and can be debilitating, said Skritskaya, a research scientist and clinical psychologist at Columbia University’s Complex Sadness Center in New York. She said participants could be treated with therapy that speaks through their experiences and emotions.

“The core is to help people face the reality of what happened,” she said. “It’s not an easy cure. It’s fierce.”

Jerry Vance said the treatment has helped deal with grief since her husband, James Vance, a former police officer in Bluefield, West Virginia, died of COVID-19 on New Year’s Day, but she said they were two. I’m worried about my young daughter.

“When I see the sadness of my child, my pain increases,” she said. “One of my kids hasn’t made much progress in treatment because her dad was her. She’s still angry with the world.”

A study published in the fall predicted a possible increase in cases of long-term grief associated with pandemics. Already, those who have lost their loved ones with COVID-19 are filling their social media pages with stories of indelible tears and sorrows.

Many have stated that the typical doomsday ritual has been lost due to constant sorrow.Some struggles for the unexpected and unfair appearance of Coronavirus.. The politicization of a pandemic is a thorn for many who constantly see and hear the debate against what. health According to experts, life-saving activities such as vaccination, wearing masks, and increasing social distance are being carried out.

Betsy Utonick, the father of Selden, NY, who died in April 2020, said, “In my office, I listen to one-sided opinions all day long and I’m not an expert, so I try not to get involved. I will. ” Sadness hasn’t subsided yet.

Noreen Wasti knows that feeling. She is struggling to lose her father on December 27th due to an illness caused by the coronavirus.

Wasty, a creator and creator of online content in New York, said he didn’t know what it would take to survive the disappearance of Salman Wasty, a 76-year-old biology professor from Glocester, Rhode Island. It was.

“This was the first time I had lost someone very important to me, so I never had a map of sadness or really understood how big it was. I’m always sad for months. I thought, and you’re okay. I was so wrong, “she said. “It hits the waves and those waves feel as harsh as the day we lost him.”

Social media is for sharing stories of loved ones and loss, as so many people are hurt and have little personal interaction for months due to the health restrictions of the pandemic. It is a place that leads to. With over 10,000 members on one private Facebook page dealing with the loss of COVID-19, continued grief is a constant source of debate.

Labia Khan has found comfort online since his father, Pakistani activist Muhammad Hamedura Khan, died at Chicago Thanksgiving. In a group of survivors and family members, she said, sadness does not face insensitive questions about how a loved one was infected with the virus and why someone was not careful enough to avoid it.

Besides sharing the story of the late boyfriend Ben Schaefer, a New York subway conductor and historian, online, Lisa Smid tried to turn her anguish into something positive. She sponsors an online lecture at the New York Transit Museum and plans to honor his legacy by giving more commemorative lectures.

“I like being able to hold events that move my life forward and look forward to having an exit that is acceptable to my grief,” she said.

Anherth, St. Paul, Minnesota, is still trying to find some way out while mourning, but work continues to bring her back to the worst days of her life.

Haas lost his father Raymond Haas on November 11th at COVID-19 and is working in the laundry at the same Veterans Hospital where he spent his last days. Haas said his memory overflowed every time he folded the tanned blanket that covered him while fighting to live.

“I want others to see what this does for people. I’ve heard people say,’This isn’t real, nothing,'” Haas said in between sobbing. “I have nothing left. I don’t know if they will lose someone and take to understand.”