LOSS IN LOCKDOWN

LOSING a loved at any time is hard enough. There’s no other pain like it. But in this time of isolation there are extra layers to grief.

For many there’s the added pain of not being able to be at a loved one’s bedside and hold their hand as they take their final breaths. There’s the strange emptiness of not being able to share comforting hugs at a time when you really need them.

And there’s the surreal experience of funerals with a limited number of mourners physically present who are all standing one and a half metres apart.

Losing a loved one during lockdown can result in a complicated grief, says Lungile Lechesa, a clinical psychologist from Sandton, Johannesburg.

“Lockdown already comes with a big sense of loss – loss of control, freedom, safety, interaction and possibly