What Is Ambiguous Loss?
"Ambiguous loss is loss that's unclear. It can feel like something has been taken from you. Like a loved one with mental illness, the person is alive but changed.
Type One: Physically Absent but Still in Your Thoughts
This type of ambiguous loss can occur when a loved one is physically absent, but they are still very much present psychologically—in the minds and hearts of those who are missing them.
Straightforward examples include grief over soldiers missing in action, a child who has run away or been abducted, a loved one whose body was never recovered after a terrorist attack.
Friends, lovers, and families who drift from each or become estranged can also experience ambiguous loss if they don’t have clarity about what ended their relationship and are all-too-aware that the person is walking around in the world.
Type Two: Physically Present but Emotionally Absent
The other type of ambiguous loss occurs when a person is physically present but is psychologically or emotionally absent. Examples might include a loved one who is living with Alzheimer’s or traumatic brain damage. Or a parent, sibling, or partner who has fallen into the grips of addiction or mental illness. It can also be the longing that family members experience when a parent is emotionally detached, due to such issues as a preoccupation with work or their own challenges with intimacy.
How to Cope with Ambiguous Grief
- Accept ambiguity
- Name what you are experiencing
- Think in terms of both/and not either/or
- Find mutual connection
- Find meaning through action
- Take care of yourself
- Know when to seek help"
Read the full article on Psycom
✨Takeaway: Ambiguous loss is a type of loss that is unclear and can feel like something has been taken away. There are two types of ambiguous loss: physically absent but still in your thoughts and physically present but emotionally absent.
✨Reflection: Have you experienced ambiguous loss?
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