With emotions running high for many, we recently talked to the VNA about grieving during the pandemic and the connection in how people are feeling.
Kellie Connelly, Grief Specialist with the VNA, says grief spans many areas in life, not just the loss of a loved one. Her concern is people misunderstand that all the emotions they have felt over the past few months is really part of the grieving process. She says grief is produced by any change in our life and we’ve had an extreme amount of change recently.
When we talked about the steps of grieving, Connelly says grief is now being looked at as circle of emotions and not so much as a step process. The myriad of emotions can come and go and we can go in and out of those emotions at any moment on any given day.
Connelly said, “There are multiple emotions being felt. I think most people have felt some degrees of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty, and when you add all those together it leads to a general sense of feeling out of control.”
Since grief is so personal, Connelly believes individuals have a difficult time identifying what they are feeling.
Some signs of grief to be aware of are a change in coping skills, appetite, sleep patterns, headaches, increased anxiety, negative thoughts, lacking patients, or having a hard time to getting out of bed or engaging with others.
Connelly suggests to stay connected in a safe way, use self-care, get sleep, eat well, talk to your doctor, and reach out to someone for emotional health.
The number to reach VNA/Lutheran Senior Life is 724-431-3520.
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