Covid-19 Crisis: Claire Bidwell Smith on Grief During the Crisis

Claire Bidwell Smith is a licensed therapist specializing in grief and the author of three books of nonfiction, most recently ANXIETY: The Missing Stage of Grief. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and a variety of other publications.  She received her Master’s Degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University, and has recently transitioned her therapeutic practice to the East Coast of the United States while working with clients around the globe. Our discussion with Claire focused on how a crisis is unique in its ability to generate grief, as well as anger and pain and anxiety. We talk about common problems that surface from not being able to grieve during the crisis in the same ways we would have traditionally. Claire shares some tips on how to manage grief during the pandemic and, interestingly, her list begins with “cut down on your screen time.” In our grooving session, Kurt and Tim discuss anticipatory grief and how difficult this experience is with no reasonable end date.  We hope you enjoy our conversation with Claire as much as we did.  © 2020 Behavioral Grooves   Links Connect with Kurt and Tim:  Kurt Nelson, PhD: @WhatMotivates  e-mail: kurt@lanterngroup.com  Tim Houlihan: @THoulihan  e-mail: tim@behavioralchemy.com  Lantern Group: http://lanterngroup.com/ BehaviorAlchemy: https://www.behavioralchemy.com/ Behavioral Grooves: https://behavioralgrooves.com/ Weekly Grooves: https://weeklygrooves.podbean.com/ Common Biases & Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit# Patreon Site for Behavioral Grooves: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves   General Coronavirus Info:  Daily Newsletter Summarizing data from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/newsroom/newsletters/e-newsletter-sign-up.html CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html Great videos on the science behind this by Dr. Peter Attia – this is the first in a series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVhLyAlfA4 What is herd immunity?: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615375/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-coronavirus/ A list curated by Liam.Delaney@UCD.ie  https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GLhX7hLf64Bxkdpv5hvYHqOjS1imlcMQFjJBJ-9oUM/edit   Coronavirus & Behavioral Science:  Selected Links: The Behavioral Sice of Coronavirus: https://behavioralscientist.org/selected-links-the-behavioral-science-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19/ Why no one is reading your coronavirus email: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/13/opinions/coronavirus-emails-effective-messaging-rogers/index.html Handwashing can stop a virus, so why don’t we do it?: https://behavioralscientist.org/handwashing-can-stop-a-virus-so-why-dont-we-do-it-coronavirus-covid-19/ The behavioral science of handwashing: https://think.ing.com/articles/the-behavioural-science-of-hand-washing/  Ideas 42: The Behavioral Side of COVID-19 here: https://ideas42.org/covid19/  Greater Good: https://twitter.com/GreaterGoodSC   How We Can Cope During This Crisis:  Tip Sheet from HUMU: https://humu.com/remote-nudges/ Resources for learning at home: https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/resources-learning-home-during-covid-19-school-closures?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=etcetera   General Behavioral Science Links:  Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit# Jonathan Haidt – 5 Moral Foundations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory Annie Duke’s “How To Decide”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Decide-Simple-Making-Choices/dp/0593084608 “16 Ways To Promote Hand Washing With Behavioral Science” article by Aline Holzwarth: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alineholzwarth/2020/03/25/handwashing-with-behavioral-science/#261b4b9f768d Aline Holzwarth’s Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H5fsQRrqslGdBhhx8d4Aw?si=0jra0rU1Qu2vQNtqjbRvZA Deontological and Consequential Moralities: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#DeoTheKan Difference between descriptive and injunctive norms: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/6193/whats-the-difference-between-injunctive-norms-and-descriptive-norms Emotion Research from FinalMile: http://finalmile.in/research/ Pandemic Playbook from FinalMile: https://www.playbookforpandemic.com/ Irrational Labs Bootcamp: https://irrationallabs.com/learn/ Claire Bidwell Smith “Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief”: https://clairebidwellsmith.com/