Ohio’s Hospice  is launching a new video series, “Identifying and Coping  With  Living Losses.” Through Pathways of Hope Grief Counseling Centers,  Ohio’s Hospice continues to provide opportunities for patients, families and community members to receive bereavement and supportive services. 

Pathways of Hope is made possible through community support. Generous support from members of the community and community-based partners are essential to Ohio’s Hospice’s ability to extend exceptional support services to patients and families.  

The video series originated at Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, which serves communities in Wayne, Holmes, Ashland and Medina counties. David Hargrave, LSW, CPT, bereavement counseling professional at Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, hosts the three-part video series about living losses  during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“A living loss occurs when an individual experiences grief without a death,” Hargrave said. “With  normal grief, there is an internal movement towards self-repair, a return to the world. Because of COVID-19,  people have lost a part of their everyday lives as they stay at home and limit in-person socializing.”   

 As  residents  throughout the state of Ohio  continue to address living losses during COVID-19, the grief resources offered through Pathways of Hope  can be  helpful  to  them.   

“We are aware that adjusting to the ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges to our sense of normality and challenged our assumptive world,” Hargrave said.  “Grief  resources can be beneficial as we process our losses.”   

In Part 1 of the video series, Hargrave discusses and defines grief and living losses. He explains how living losses include moving, losing a job, living with a chronic condition, the breakup of a relationship, the death of a dream, loss of routine and changes in family patterns.   

“Grief is the natural human response when we lose someone or something we love,” Hargrave said. “When there are losses, or we lose things, there is an automatic grief response. With living losses, no one has died.”  

Part 2 of the video series continues the discussion about bereavement and living losses. Hargrave talks about ways to grieve and provides positive coping tips.   

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have experienced living losses, including financial losses or the loss of a job,” Hargrave said. “Each of us experiences living losses in our own way.”  

In Part 3 of the video series, Hargrave discusses the four tasks of mourning – accepting the reality of loss; accepting the pain of the loss; adjusting to a new environment;  and connecting with the past and accepting a new normal. In addition, he identifies the positive coping skills and strategies that can help individuals adjust to a new environment of living losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

“It’s important to work through our grief in a healthy manner,” he said. “To cope with living and symbolic loss, we need to take care of ourselves, establish a routine, limit news and information, and engage in meaningful age-appropriate discussions.”   

To view the three-part video series, go to  https://www.ohioshospice.org/living-loss-videos/.  

Pathways of Hope  

Pathways of Hope services are available to the friends and family of all Ohio’s Hospice patients, as well as anyone in the public, free of charge, thanks to generous support from the communities Ohio’s Hospice serves. To speak with bereavement counseling professional, contact a Pathways of Hope Grief Counseling Center at one of these locations.   

Community Care Hospice or Ohio’s Hospice of Fayette County  

937.382.5400   

Ohio’s Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties  

513.422.0300  

Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice  

937.258.4991  

Hospice of Central Ohio  

740.788.1400 – Newark  

614.891.6000 – Columbus  

740.454.0000 – Zanesville  

740.681.1000 – Lancaster  

Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton  

937.258.4991  

Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare  

419.496.0057 – Ashland  

330.674.8448 – Millersburg  

330.264.4899 – Wooster  

Ohio’s Hospice Loving Care  

937.644.1928 – Marysville  

740.852.7755 – London  

Ohio’s Hospice of Miami County  

937.573.2103