Being Mindful: Deepak Chopra on how to cope with loss during the coronavirus pandemic
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, we may be experiencing a new and increased sense of loss, whether it be for a loved one or for a certain lifestyle. Mindfulness expert Deepak Chopra joins Yahoo Life to guide us through the grieving process and help us lessen our suffering.
Chopra’s first coping mechanism to deal with feelings of grief is to “bring them into your awareness, into your heart, express your love to them, even talk to them if you want to.” Although they may be gone, Chopra shares that he still talks to his parents every day despite passing years ago. This form of coping will then make it easier to embrace grief.
Chopra discusses how crucial it is to recognize these feelings and embrace the grief, warning that they will only get worse if ignored. “Anything you repress gets stronger. What you resist, persists,” Chopra says. Grief has a year-long cycle, Chopra explains, and we cannot begin to overcome it unless we first feel it within ourselves. He also suggests we should “find a way to express our love to somebody else right now.”
Chopra goes on to explain a second form of grief: the loss of a former lifestyle. This is a loss that the whole world can relate to right now, as we have all had normalcy taken away from us in some way.
Although grief is very personal and differs for everyone, Chopra walks us through the stages of grief: victimization, anger, frustration, helplessness, resignation, acceptance and meaning. We must journey through these stages and feelings of discomfort in order to reach acceptance, which Chopra says is the moment we finally find peace.
At this point, we may ask ourselves how we can create a better world for ourselves and for others. Chopra recommends that we find out what is the most meaningful thing in our life, and then ask ourselves, “When this is over, how will we pursue what it is that gives our life meaning and purpose?”
Listen to Chopra’s podcast, The Daily Breath, for inspiration and enlightenment into living more productively, positively and creatively.
Video produced by Stacy Jackman
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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