Over the weekend, the surgeon general warned the public that, due to the rising death toll from the coronavirus pandemic, this week would be “the hardest and saddest week of most Americans’ lives,” comparing it to Pearl Harbor and 9/11. And President Donald Trump himself, who has often sought to downplay the danger of the virus, said on Saturday that there will be “a lot of death.” With the number of COVID-19 deaths continuing to creep up, lots of Americans will be grieving in the weeks and months ahead.
On this episode of the podcast Social Distance, Katherine Wells and James Hamblin call Lori Gottlieb, the author of The Atlantic’s weekly “Dear Therapist” column, to answer listeners’ questions about supporting loved ones, dealing with depression, and grieving during the pandemic.
What follows is an edited and condensed transcript of their conversation.
Listen to the episode here:
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Katherine Wells: Lori, we wanted to first just give you our condolences. I know you wrote a column to yourself recently.
Lori Gottlieb: Yeah. In the midst of the coronavirus, my father died, and he did not die of the virus. He had complications from congestive heart failure. We knew that he was going to die in the coming weeks or months, but when somebody dies in the middle of what’s going on in the world right now, it’s a very, very different experience. It’s a very surreal experience, layered on top of an already surreal experience.