How to manage your bereavement during a period of confinement and a health crisis?

Whether the loved one died of the coronavirus or not, during this period of confinement, the funeral ceremonies were greatly disrupted. Limited to 20 people from the first family circle of the deceased, they did not allow the most distant to go there. This essential step in the grieving process must be replaced by other rituals.

Exceptional conditions

The people most affected by a difficult bereavement are generally so because they were not able to accompany their loved one as they wished in their last moments. Because of the protective measures, only access by telephone or video is possible, of course imitating the understanding of the death.

Just as with natural disasters or violent deaths, these conditions deeply hurt and complicate the grieving process of being able to say goodbye to the loved one.

Reinventing new rituals

While these complications should be taken into account, they do not block the grieving process. If the funeral and the accompaniment facilitate acceptance in our societies, other rituals can be invented such as the use of a photo of the person, a candle, flowers, or the reading of a text. .

Rather than thinking about what couldn’t be done, it’s best to invent your own ritual that could have best matched the deceased person. For this, we sometimes encourage you to write what you feel and what you have lived with the person to recreate a moment of intimacy that allows you to express what you have on your heart.

Then, when possible, a second ceremony can be considered at a later date to meet and honor the memory of the deceased as had been imagined. Even deferred, it will help those who need it most to grieve.