“Much of the anxiety, anger, and exhaustion people feel today is not weakness—it’s grief in disguise.”
The last few weeks have been especially hard—filled with fatigue, a lack of motivation, anxiety, sadness, and a deep sense of isolation. I’ve come to realize that beneath it all, I am grieving the loss of being able to safely return, even for a visit, to the ravaged United States, the country that once felt like home. It’s the place where I lived, worked, and poured so much of my heart for decades. Now, it feels as though a piece of my very soul has been taken from me.
Today, people in many countries are quietly grieving the loss of kindness, civility, and shared humanity in a world that feels increasingly politically divided and harsh. Yet few recognize this sorrow for what it truly is.
This is disenfranchised grief—a form of grief that society neither validates nor makes space for. It is the grief we are not “allowed” to feel because it doesn’t fit conventional definitions of loss. Many don’t even know they are grieving.
🌍 The Grief We Don’t Recognize
Across America, people are mourning the fading sense of decency and connection that once bound communities together. Families fracture over politics. Compassion feels endangered. Many sense that the very soul of humanity—the collective spirit of care and respect—is unraveling.
Yet when we express sadness about this decline, we’re often told to “stop being dramatic” or “just turn off the news.” Because this grief is unseen and unsupported, it hides beneath anger, fatigue, or numbness.
In truth, much of the emotional unrest people experience today is grief in disguise—a deep ache for a world that no longer feels whole.
💫 When Empathy Fades
From an integrative perspective, unacknowledged grief can stagnate energy and disrupt emotional regulation. It also dulls empathy.
Our mirror neuron system, which allows us to feel and respond to others’ emotions, is less active when we live in chronic stress or fear. As empathy fades, polarization deepens, and we lose our sense of shared humanity.
Healing begins with awareness. When we recognize that many forms of aggression and despair are expressions of unprocessed pain, compassion returns. Empathy becomes an act of courage—and a pathway to collective healing.
🌿 Healing the Unseen Grief
To heal disenfranchised grief, we must first name it. Saying, “I am grieving the loss of safety, integrity, or connection,” brings the unconscious into awareness.
Simple steps toward healing include:
- Create space for reflection. Notice what feels heavy or lost. Write, meditate, or speak it aloud.
- Engage in ritual. Light a candle, pray, or walk in nature as an act of honoring the collective pain.
- Find compassionate community. Seek spaces where authenticity and empathy are welcome.
- Reconnect spiritually. Return to whatever helps you remember that goodness and love still exist.
When grief is acknowledged, it becomes a source of transformation rather than despair.
✨ A Closing Reflection
We are living through a time of profound transformation. Beneath the turbulence lies a shared longing for wholeness.
As we honor even the grief we do not fully understand, we begin to restore compassion—to ourselves, to one another, and to the soul of humanity itself.
“Grief, at its core, is love that has nowhere to go. When we give that love voice again, healing begins.”
