Loss of Meaning

What the experience of loss of meaning looks like?

This could be different from person to person. To me personally I experienced it from a very young age. I remember coping with it using different ways and methods.

Let us start from the age of 5 to 6 years. I remember my need to be seen, noticed and accepted with my strong feelings. This was not available in my home. Feelings needed to be suppressed, avoided and neglected. I remember telling myself: I have to prove myself. I have to work really hard to prove I am worth the attention and approval. This was my personal way to cope in that young age.

Another loss experienced was the day my brother had a bike accident which caused a severe head injury. I didn’t realize then the loss we would face until later in his recovery. Normally with head injury cases, the patient faces in the long run difficulties in different areas like physical movement, speech, occupational, memory, etc. But for my brother the damages he has are related to his speech, behavior and emotional regulation. At the beginning it was not easy to accept. I remember reading every piece of article to learn about his recovery process. Later on with time and painful realizations, we accepted Allah’s will and moved on.

Another loss is the day I found out about the harsh truth behind the set-up of the education system and me losing my passion and drive to continue my PhD program. What an absolute system it is. It hinders a person’s potential and forces you to stay small, hiding and invisible. I coped with this loss by blogging daily, learning about my feelings and thoughts and getting curious about myself (in the past, present and future).

So what about you? What areas you faced loss of meaning and purpose? How did you cope with it? What actions and methods you did to smooth out and move on?