Coping with Collective Grief in the Poly Crisis
We are living through a season of grief that feels endless. The end, the fall of Empire, the desintegration and collapse of systems, the death of us all as a species. The very fabric of our lives is fraying in too many places to repair. We mourn for lives lost, injustice, and futures that seem increasingly uncertain. I myself write this as a wildfire rages on a few towns over. This is what it means to grieve in a poly crisis, when crises overlap and intertwine, and layers of grief and fatigue that weigh on us all.
Collective grief is an accumulation of all that feels broken or under threat in the world around us. We feel it in the political systems that fail to protect the vulnerable and go out of their way to cause harm, in the environmental devastation that threatens our present and our future, and in the erosion of communities that once held us. This grief is vast, and it can feel immobilizing. Yet, in facing it, we may find the strength to rebuild, not as individuals alone, but as a connected, caring whole.
The Weight of Political Turmoil
Our grief is a natural response to the pain of others. It’s a sign that we care, that we’re awake to the suffering around us, and that we refuse to turn away. Political turmoil, with all its chaos and uncertainty, leaves us grieving for those harmed by inequity and left vulnerable by systemic failures. But how do we hold onto our humanity without collapsing under the weight of it all? That’s the million dollar question.
Living in the Poly Crisis
Today, grief over political turmoil and systemic injustice is layered with environmental destruction, economic instability, and the breakdown of community. The poly crisis fractures our sense of security and collective belonging. We grieve for ourselves and our losses. No one is exempt from the crisis, not even the billionaires that pretend their money can insulate them. And so we grieve for ourselves and our precarious sense of survival, for our neighbors, friends, and families, and for the world itself, as it groans under the weight of these intersecting crises. How can we find ways to endure in this season of sorrow?
Our survival in this poly crisis depends on how we navigate these overlapping griefs, how we learn to hold them, honor them, and let them transform us. Collective grief isn’t a burden we’re meant to carry alone. It’s a shared experience that, paradoxically, can remind us of the strength that lies in our connections, the resilience that springs from community, and the healing that comes when we allow ourselves to grieve together. The ideas that flourish on the other side of grief.
Practices for Navigating Collective Grief
Grief is heavy, but in small, intentional acts, we can find ways to carry it together. These practices are gentle reminders that while our sorrow is real, so is our capacity to hold it with tenderness, to ground ourselves, and to move forward in solidarity.
Embody Grief as a Catalyst for Change: Let your grief guide you to new ways of engaging with your communities and environments. When we acknowledge collective grief as a force of connection, it can become an opening to reimagine relationships and commit to justice. This might involve participating in mutual aid projects, joining climate action groups, or volunteering in areas impacted by crisis. Action taken with a grieving heart can feel more meaningful and grounded.
Practice Grief Rituals in Nature: Spending time in natural settings allows us to observe cycles of life, death, and regeneration, giving us a model for resilience. Remember, we have survived worse! Our ancestors have survived for us! Plant a tree, create an offering at a river, or bury a seed with intentions of healing. Rituals like these can connect us to Earth’s cycles and help us remember that we are part of a larger web that holds us, even as things fall apart.
Reclaim Ancestral Grieving Practices: Many Indigenous and cultural traditions have rituals for mourning collectively, such as drumming, singing, and storytelling. Learning about, or returning to, these practices can create space for grieving communally and reclaiming a sense of continuity with past generations of our ancestors who endured hardship and survived for us, in us, and through us. This connection to ancestral grief can remind us of the resilience in our own lineage. NOTE: Don’t take someone else’s culture, draw upon your own. If your lineage comes from colonizers, reach further back. Who were they before they became colonizers? What were their practices and culture before they decided to pillage and plunder?
Channel Grief into Creative Expression: Art, music, dance, and other forms of creativity provide powerful ways to release and transform grief. Encourage others to create something that speaks to the pain they feel, be it a song, a painting, or a small sculpture. I know it sounds silly, and a privileged thing, but spending time journaling on what breaks your heart and why, is important for us, in that it allows us to be intentional in our reflection. These expressions of grief can serve as offerings to others, letting people know they are not alone.
Engage in Grief-Led Activism: Rather than suppressing grief, allow it to drive activism that feels purposeful. Advocate for changes that address the root causes of the crises you grieve. When we allow grief to be a voice for change, it helps to transform feelings of helplessness into empowered action.
Cultivate Moments of Joy and Beauty as Acts of Resistance: Grief doesn't mean we abandon joy; rather, finding beauty and creating moments of joy become radical acts in times of crisis. Make space to celebrate small victories, honor resilience, and notice beauty, even amid hardship. This act of acknowledging beauty can feel like reclaiming one’s humanity.
Practice Grounding Exercises Regularly: In times of collective grief, people often feel overwhelmed by despair. Physical grounding exercises like somatic work, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation can help reconnect people with their bodies. This can counterbalance the tendency to dissociate when the weight of polycrisis feels too heavy.
Form or Join Collective Grieving Circles: Collective grief can feel isolating, so grieving together with others, whether through in-person gatherings or virtual spaces, can be healing. This could involve holding ritualized grief circles, where people can openly speak, listen, and offer solidarity to one another.
Hold Space for Grief in Daily Life: Rather than setting grief aside as something to 'deal with' in a specific moment, create small habits that honor grief throughout the day. For example, keep a small object that symbolizes what you're grieving nearby, light a candle for losses, or take a brief 'grief pause' during your day to simply acknowledge your feelings.
Nurture a Grief-Informed Perspective on Resilience: In the face of polycrisis, resilience isn’t about toughing it out. Instead, it’s about becoming adaptive and cultivating compassion for ourselves and others. Embrace grief as a teacher and ally, one that deepens empathy, wisdom, and connection. Recognizing resilience in this light allows grief to be something we hold gently, knowing it enriches us rather than weakens us.
Our collective grief is a testament to our interconnectedness, to the fact that we cannot detach from the world’s suffering without losing a piece of ourselves. This poly crisis, with all its overlapping sorrows, may threaten to overwhelm us. But let this grief be our guide, a reminder of what we cherish, what we are willing to protect, and what we hope to create anew.
Let it break your heart, let it move you and move through you. Let feeling come, and overcome. We carry our grief not alone but as part of a long, resilient lineage of those who have grieved, resisted, and rebuilt.
If you're navigating grief or feeling the weight of collective sorrow, I’m here to help you find meaningful ways to hold, honor, and transform it. As a grief educator and facilitator, I offer one-on-one sessions to support you on this journey. Book a free 30-minute Grief Compass session here and discover the strength in grieving together.