By Robert M. Gordon, Psy.D., and Elizabeth Malkin, MA, MSCP

In the past 3 ½ years, we have experienced an incomprehensible level of unprocessed grief and loss over the number of people who have died due to COVID-19. Many individuals helplessly witnessed loved ones die alone in hospitals and nursing homes without the normal healing mourning rituals. Imagining the enormity of these losses is “like looking directly into the sun for too long; although the image persists, one must nonetheless turn away for protection” (Gensler et al., 2002, p. 96).

Without exception, all of us have experienced tangible loss during the pandemic. Some lost families, homes, and jobs, while others lost their hopes, sense of control, security in the world, and the belief that good things happen to people who are deserving (Boss, 1999; McWilliams, 2021; Rappoport et al., 2023). This experience of loss and unpredictability has been further compounded by recent global events, such as the war in Gaza, which exacerbate existential fears involving death, anxiety, and helplessness.

While the COVID-19 pandemic feels unprecedented and without comparison, we can gain perspective by contrasting it with other national traumas, such as 9/11 and the 1918 Spanish flu. History has shown us that in times of fear and crisis, people seek to identify a clear adversary.

For 9/11, the image of the Twin Towers was burned in people’s minds, and a “clear enemy” was defined, and thus an anchor for people’s fear, rage, and vengeance.

Similarly, in 1918, Spain was blamed for the flu because it was the first to report enormous numbers of deaths (Alpert et al., 2023). With COVID-19, some ethnic groups (e.g., Asians/Chinese) faced backlash due to the origins of the virus, resulting in collective trauma for that community. In times of collective trauma, individuals typically gather together to provide psychological support and protection. During the pandemic, however, we were told to do the opposite, increasing feelings of loneliness and fear (Gordon et al., 2020).

Alpert et al. (2023) wrote that during the 1918 Spanish flu, the United States dissociated feelings of helplessness, pain, suffering, and loneliness that were........

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