It's been two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

Sometimes it's hard to believe it's been that long, while on other days it feels even longer.

Nearly everyone has lost something over these past two years.

Many losses were tragic, especially the deaths of loved ones from COVID-19.

But even the smaller losses have added up.

Graduations, birthday parties, and weddings that were rescheduled and rescheduled again and finally canceled.

Friends and acquaintances whom you can't see or who have fallen out of touch.

People who have lost jobs and

businesses and maybe even their confidence in the future now after two years and with we hope the

latest variant receding many people are hoping yet again to close the book on COVID and move on

with regular life but what if closing the book is an elusive goal?

What if closure is not what we should be aiming for?

And instead, there's a different way to think about life after loss.

What have we learned about grief and resilience and moving on after two years of pandemic life?

Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association

that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.

I'm Kim Mills.

Our guest today is Dr. Pauline Boss, a professor emerita in the Department of Family Social Service

at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Boss coined the term ambiguous loss in the 1970s. Coming from the

discipline of family therapy, she originally implied the term to families mourning a loved one

whose loss was in some way

unresolved like a soldier missing in war in the years since she and other researchers have

...