Coronavirus Stages Of Grief

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought dramatic changes already, and it's likely this rate of change will continue for some time. These facts are causing everything from a kind of "coronavirus blues" to intense grief worldwide.

Here are some facts about grief and loss as well as some astrological reflections to help you make sense of your experience. With this information, you can take steps to feel better - and help those around you do the same.

Coronavirus Creates Sudden, Massive Loss

Change can be a challenge under the best conditions, but in the current global climate, it may feel overwhelming. Essentially, the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to deal with it have brought a tremendous shock to humanity, along with a sudden and massive loss.

If you compare your life before the coronavirus pandemic to the current situation, you'll likely see how dramatically everyday life has changed and what you've lost:

• Fears over the virus's effects and the possibility of contracting it have taken away the sense of security
• Worries for loved ones, especially those at higher risk for contracting or suffering serious effects from the virus, have taken away peace of mind
• Knowledge that there is as yet no vaccine has taken away a sense of personal confidence regarding health and even survival
• Shelter in place and other means to reduce and slow the virus's spread have taken away longstanding routines
• Closed restaurants, bars, and stores have taken away "business as usual," and in some cases taken away jobs
• The need for social distancing has taken away the comfort of hugs and loving touch
• The need to stay home has taken away the pleasure and solace of social gatherings, public entertainment, and religious services

All these losses, and many more, have felt even more intense because they are all arriving together and because they have happened so quickly.

Shock: Uranus In Taurus

The astrology of 2020 indicates that this pattern may continue throughout the year. The major player in this level of shock is Uranus, which is moving through Taurus until 2025.

Uranus is both the Great Awakener and the Great Disruptor. With lightning speed, it already has awakened the world to a universal threat and thereby disrupted life as we knew it. Uranus is associated with electricity, and the changes it's bringing can feel like jolts of electricity through our nervous systems, causing anxiety and physical symptoms.

Future-oriented, electrical Uranus feels very uncomfortable in steady, placid Taurus, a fixed earth sign that resists change and prizes security. Uranus prizes change and will force it to occur, usually in unexpected ways.

You can find out much more about this phenomenon in my detailed article, Uranus In Taurus 2018 – 2025. You may want to bookmark this article and return to it frequently for guidance, especially the last section, which provides a detailed horoscope for every zodiac sign.

Shock Of Loss Gives Rise To Grief

All these shocks amount to a series of losses. As each shock shows us what we've lost, the sense of loss compounds.

As you look around at what's happening, you may feel a deep sadness we might call the "coronavirus blues" in the face of how much life has changed - and how suddenly. You also may find yourself plunged into grief, along with many others in the world.

What Am I Really Feeling?

Grief can be a complex experience, with constantly shifting feelings.

You might feel down one day, then back to balance the next. Or you may feel up to helping other people at one moment but then feel too overwhelmed to even return a call or text soon afterward.

Along with the sense of loss, which compounds with each new thing taken away, grief itself compounds. Perhaps you felt fairly confident in your ability to cope early on in the coronavirus pandemic, but as the days and weeks have worn on, your confidence might feel shaken.

If you're someone working in an essential capacity, you likely don't have time for much beyond rising to this extraordinary occasion to perform your job and keep your health strong and your home life operating to support your current needs. You may be so busy you don't know what you feel - or perhaps difficult emotions and grief may surface suddenly at moments of stress.

If you're working from home, you may have more opportunity to experience changing feelings related to grief.

Five Stages Of Grief

Whatever your situation, here are some facts to help clarify what you may be feeling, based on the classic stages of grief.

Early research on grief identified five stages of grief:

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

If you look back on recent weeks, you may realize you have experienced one or more of these symptoms. Grief isn't a linear process, and the various stages or feelings can come up throughout the process of coming to terms with loss.

Seven Stages Of Grief

After initial research on grief, a new model about grief has gained more attention. This later version has seven stages of grief:

1. Shock, followed by denial
2. Pain and perhaps guilt
3. Anger and bargaining
4. Depression, accompanied by loneliness and self-reflection
5. The upward turn
6. Reconstruction, working through the grief
7. Acceptance and renewed hope

In my experience, this seven stages model of grief offers a fuller picture of what it feels like to grieve. If you've lost a loved one, you may see your own experience reflected in these seven stages.

With the coronavirus pandemic, the sense of shock certainly applies worldwide.

The world we knew is changing and many parts of it are ending, forcing us to change. We have work to do before we reach acceptance.

How To Move Forward

As you go about your days, keep the stages of grief in mind. That single act will help you understand your experience and take steps to manage your feelings with greater grace.

Also, remember that everyone on Earth is suffering to some degree and likely in some stage of grief. When you observe someone behaving in unexpected or nonconstructive ways, avoid judgment by working to identify the stage they're in.

If you know the person well, you may be able to help by listening, demonstrating compassion, and recommending mental health resources or other services. If you do not know the person, you can help by remaining calm and practicing kindness and detachment if you need to interact (or, if you don't need to interact, by stepping away to regain tranquility). If you meditate or follow a spiritual path, this is your time to walk your talk by including such people in your prayers or meditations.

Go Gently

Whatever happens, do go gently.

We're all grieving.

Be Well, Stay Well

As we undergo this collective time of change and loss, my heart goes out to you as you grieve your personal losses - and those of our planet.

May you be well, and stay well. And may your grief become an opportunity to serve others through empathy, kindness, and universal love.