3.11.2 Lost Opportunities to Grieve
Participants emphasised the need to grieve properly, the ability to attend traditional funerals, and the opportunity to say goodbye. However, COVID-19 hindered these activities, which are essential components of the grieving process. One participant compared the death of her mother before the pandemic with her father’s death during the pandemic and highlighted how the removal of traditional grieving rituals disrupted and impacted the grieving process: “It didn’t change my views so much on dying and death, but I probably didn’t understand the importance of ‘rituals’ in the aftermath of the death of a loved one until they were taken away. My mother’s death from cancer almost 5 years ago was a drawn-out lingering process but we had time to process it every step of the way. COVID robbed us of that when it came to our father’s death.”
3.11.3 Difficulty Supporting Others
Survey participants frequently referred to the difficult and heart-breaking experience of being unable to extend their support to family and friends during the pandemic due to public health measures in place. For example, one participant recalled the experience opposite:
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