Over and over and over in my head, I keep trying to remind myself of the belief that I have and always have had, in the "reason-for-everything" theory. I hold that nothing happens for nothing and that in this world, everything and everyone has a purpose.
Having said that, it still seems surreal and I still question the sad, sad, hard and unrelenting pieces of bad news that we are receiving daily, as being necessary steps to something beyond evil.
We're being tested. We're becoming frightened. We're entering a mourning period, one in which we see no end but we are all in it and there's no turning back. We've lost our closest friend. Our freedom to move about in shared spaces, breathing air with which we feel safe, has been stripped away as in a sudden death. We risk another great loss, the feeling of hope, the ability to plan beyond today. Funny, we took that so for granted.
In 1969, Swiss psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross first described the five stages of grief. The Grief Cycle. In her book On Death and Dying, she outlined the steps that humans take as they process loss, as they mourn and grieve for something or someone. While it looks like a roadmap, based upon a flow from step to step at first, it is not intended as such and researchers over the years have been quick to point out that not everyone goes through the five steps in order and some actually skip steps along their way.
The stages described by Kubler-Ross are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
Watching, reading and listening to the news from our country and abroad, I am sensing there are a lot of folks out there in the very first stage, denial. The news clips from the beaches in Florida, for instance, show us hundreds of people who are clearly in denial, totally ignoring the social distancing recommendations. Ignorance and denial are perfect buddies and together, we're seeing the result of their alliance.
Anger. I don't know about you, but I am progressing rapidly to this stage. I'm angry when I go to the supermarket, take all the necessary infection-control steps, and witness a smug woman of my own age, half-heartedly going through the motions as if she honestly thought it was all a figment of one's imagination, this rapidly spreading virus. I almost clocked her but that would have meant a form of social contact and she really wasn't worth it. I'm angry at the greed. Why are stores running out of toilet paper? Greed? The new social status game? Bragging rights? Does having a supply of toilet paper make you feel special? If it does, I'm angry at you.
I'm not at the bargaining stage, at least not quite yet. I'm not making promises to God in exchange for mercy. I'm not taking risks nor am I risking anybody else's right to staying well. And, I am certainly trying hard to not become depressed. New forms of social contact, a good diet, exercise and remaining present in my life might help in that area. Let's hope.
Acceptance? Do we have a choice?
For more information: https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.grief.html
AND: As always, great information and perspectives from https://italywise.com/a-glimmer-of-hope-in-the-midst-of-the-coronavirus-crisis/
Having said that, it still seems surreal and I still question the sad, sad, hard and unrelenting pieces of bad news that we are receiving daily, as being necessary steps to something beyond evil.
We're being tested. We're becoming frightened. We're entering a mourning period, one in which we see no end but we are all in it and there's no turning back. We've lost our closest friend. Our freedom to move about in shared spaces, breathing air with which we feel safe, has been stripped away as in a sudden death. We risk another great loss, the feeling of hope, the ability to plan beyond today. Funny, we took that so for granted.
In 1969, Swiss psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross first described the five stages of grief. The Grief Cycle. In her book On Death and Dying, she outlined the steps that humans take as they process loss, as they mourn and grieve for something or someone. While it looks like a roadmap, based upon a flow from step to step at first, it is not intended as such and researchers over the years have been quick to point out that not everyone goes through the five steps in order and some actually skip steps along their way.
The stages described by Kubler-Ross are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
Watching, reading and listening to the news from our country and abroad, I am sensing there are a lot of folks out there in the very first stage, denial. The news clips from the beaches in Florida, for instance, show us hundreds of people who are clearly in denial, totally ignoring the social distancing recommendations. Ignorance and denial are perfect buddies and together, we're seeing the result of their alliance.
Anger. I don't know about you, but I am progressing rapidly to this stage. I'm angry when I go to the supermarket, take all the necessary infection-control steps, and witness a smug woman of my own age, half-heartedly going through the motions as if she honestly thought it was all a figment of one's imagination, this rapidly spreading virus. I almost clocked her but that would have meant a form of social contact and she really wasn't worth it. I'm angry at the greed. Why are stores running out of toilet paper? Greed? The new social status game? Bragging rights? Does having a supply of toilet paper make you feel special? If it does, I'm angry at you.
I'm not at the bargaining stage, at least not quite yet. I'm not making promises to God in exchange for mercy. I'm not taking risks nor am I risking anybody else's right to staying well. And, I am certainly trying hard to not become depressed. New forms of social contact, a good diet, exercise and remaining present in my life might help in that area. Let's hope.
Acceptance? Do we have a choice?
For more information: https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.grief.html
AND: As always, great information and perspectives from https://italywise.com/a-glimmer-of-hope-in-the-midst-of-the-coronavirus-crisis/
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