In 1951 Westberg became Chaplain of the University of Chicago Clinics. In 1956 he started a joint appointment in both the Chicago Divinity School and the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. The upheavals caused by the virus on day-to-day life — on our social lives, work routines, schools and childcare — are causing great anxiety, she says, exacerbated by the fact that there is no “template” for dealing with a pandemic. There is a general sense, she says, that “there’s no one in charge that we know is going to sort it. There’s no saviour.” Social media is only compounding anxiety. Rather than catastrophise about an unknown future, she recommends keeping plans on a short timeline: “Don’t project into weeks and months ahead, plan today.” New structures are important too: “We’re very habitual beings. The coffee that you buy, the route that you take, the clothes that you get, even the thoughts that you have down a particular street. You have them habitually as you get to the office. We have to create new structures and habits that give you a sense of agency and efficacy.” We know that your grief will be different to ours, but we do understand, as we have all lost someone we love at The Good Grief Trust. We have been at the early stages as you are now, which can be so incredibly difficult, so we want you to know that you are not alone and that we are here to offer you our friendship and support. Please scroll down for stories from others who are bereaved and articles explaining how people dealt with their own grief early on and we hope the advice from the professionals to you is also helpful. Rethink Mental Illness - Great practical advice for those living with mental illness and those caring

Under the restrictions that were enforced by the Government during the crisis, funerals and cremations may be disrupted or delayed. The number of family members permitted to attend a funeral may have been limited. Many people who are grieving the death of someone close may have been in isolation and unable to attend funerals. This may have caused a great deal of upset and trauma. Guidance for parents and carers on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak This information was published at the height of the pandemic, however we hope this advice may still be useful:

A Grief Observed -  C S Lewis

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is going to affect everyone’s daily lives, as the government and the NHS take necessary steps to manage the outbreak, reduce transmission and treat those who need medical attention. Every life has a start, a middle and an end. Everyone prepares for the first two events, but are we doing what we can to prepare for the end? Catherine and Anne generously share their experience of widowhood knowing that they can help others prepare and cope with grief. An important book on a very important subject.” June Sarpong Later in 1964 he became Dean of institute of Religion at Texas Med Center in Houston providing a graduate program in pastoral care and counseling through a program for seminaries . Later he would serve as Professor of Medicine and Religion in the Department of Psychiatry of Baylor College of Medicine, and at Hamma School of Theology now Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Ohio. Please see these links below for advice on feeling isolated through your grief, which may have been compounded because of the pandemic.

It is more than a year since Clare Wise, sister of the actor Greg Wise, died of cancer. She lived just down the street from the West Hampstead house her brother shares with his wife, Emma Thompson, and their daughter, Gaia. As Greg opens his front door and leads the way into his kitchen, one can see, within minutes, why he was such an indispensable carer to his sister during the last weeks of her life. Today, he has organised elevenses with good coffee and patisserie. As an actor, he is routinely cast as a reprobate (Mountbatten in The Crown a debatable exception). In life, he could not be nicer if he tried. And that’s precisely it: he does not appear to be trying – the charm is not fake. When I ask him how he is feeling about Clare’s death now, his eyes fill. As her full-time carer, it was so hard to see her change physically and mentally, she no longer looked like herself and the onslaught of cancer on your body meant she was there but incrementally not who she had been. I came to recognise that my grieving process had been complicated: the usual feelings associated with grief were compounded by the mixed emotions I had bottled up over the years of living with someone with an addiction. By being more open about the issues, I have found a means of coping with my loss. Regardless of their age, this may be a difficult time for children and young people. Some may react right away, while others may show signs of difficulty later on. Sometimes those who have lost a sibling can feel like forgotten mourners. This book is a collection of short contributions discussing sibling loss. It tells the very individual story of 12 people’s individual experience of bereavement when facing the death of an adult sibling.Kris died of terminal breast cancer after an extended battle in which she bravely undertook every painful and distressing treatment prescribed without a word of complaint and in her usual good-humoured way. completely for free. This is a very useful resource and can help if you are struggling to sleep due to Drinking had caused many problems in our relationship. Feelings of helplessness, frustration, anger and shame were overshadowed by the deep affection I felt for the man I loved. After Miles died, I continually asked myself why he could not see what was happening and why I wasn’t able to help him stop drinking. Four years later and I have begun to process what happened in February 2017. I have had bereavement counselling which got me through the initial seven months and a year later I had another year of counselling at an amazing LGBT charity in London. And then, I realised I really wanted and needed to speak to other gay people about losing a partner. I had this feeling that talking to other people about their experience and sharing mine with them would help me to heal. A book written for those who support bereaved people, which will also be useful to anyone who wants to go into a bit more detail about theories of grief and grieving, and learn how grief ‘works’. Chapters cover grieving styles, the interaction of grief and mental health, what to say to bereaved people and how to support them.

That you will receive many offers of help and, initially you may want to decline a lot of them - try not to. Let people help you because the sad reality is that will fall away - if you constantly say no, people will stop asking. We have been recommended to share this Youtube channel to guide you through yoga moves to help with a bereavement It is very important to look after your mental and physical health during this crisis, particularly if you are self-isolating and feeling alone.

Grief is the thing with feathers – Max Porter

In the mid 1980s at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois, with support from a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Westberg launched a parish nurse project in which nurses and others in congregations promoted health, prevented illness, and cared for those in need. This approach is now known as "faith community nursing" (FCN) where there is an intentional integration of the practice of faith with the practice of nursing so that people can achieve wholeness in, with, and through the population which faith community nurses serve. That it can be hard talking to those who have not experienced what you have. Seek out people who have been through a similar loss. We both agreed that there was this huge gap in provision for gay people that had been bereaved and decided that if a group did not exist - then we would start our own. So, in the summer of last year - while Coronavirus was temporarily quiet, we set up the LGBTQ Virtual Cafe on zoom.

Sisters and Brothers: Stories about the death of a sibling, by Julie Bentley and Simon Anthony Blake Psychologist Julia Samuel tells the stories of those who have experienced great grief and survived. Sections cover death of a parent, partner, sibling, child and facing your own death. Her insights reveal how when grief is approached in the right way, healing can follow. Social Media; Please see our own social media platforms to talk, share and message other people who are bereaved at this time. That you don't have to listen to the uneducated. Everyone thinks they know about loss and they want to tell you. You do not have to listen, just tell them you are not ready. In this memoir, Catherine also investigates the possibility that her husband, renowned musician Andy Gill, contracted Covid-19 when his band, Gang of Four, toured China in late 2019. Her main focus, however, is not on death, but on life and love. This is a captivating account of lives well lived. It is interwoven with letters Anne wrote to her husband John to tell him of the astonishing and heartrending events since his death and her small triumphs in living independently.Our bodies react to our feelings and it’s common for grief to produce physical symptoms. Even simple, everyday things like getting up in the morning, going to school, college or work, or talking to friends may be a huge effort. In 2020, we met through online dating! We both feel very fortunate that from the time of Luke and Naomi’s diagnosis, through to their death and our lives going forward, we have received huge support from family and friends and that support network has continued to grow. We discovered the Good Grief Trust together when Tony bought the orange umbrella pins as a gift. It seemed only right that when we decided to open a coffee shop in late 2021, aptly named ‘Wooden Box’, that perhaps we could become a Pop Up Café as we thought we might be able to offer support to people in a similar situation. Liz had already benefited hugely from the support of a widows group. There is no judgement at the Cafe, just people from our community supporting one and other by listening and sharing (if you feel like you can) and plenty of compassion. It is peer run/led by Rach and me - experts only in our own experience of grief and loss.