How to Deal with the Fear of Loss
Four lessons backed up by science about the fear of losing someone you love
When my mom decided to move to a new house, she did not expect to spend weeks rummaging through old pictures, drawings, and children’s books. But each day, she discovered another gem from her past. Stashed away in a forgotten corner, she stumbled upon a 20-year-old notebook. Her short stories and scribbles about my behavior as a child burst over its wrinkled pages. Since then, a landslide of pictures and anecdotes from my childhood pops up on my phone daily.
The notebook holds silly things. Like my first word (cheese) or my first full sentence (a cat walks outside).
A more serious conversation also lives in it. One evening, before bed, tucked away under the cover, I whispered to my mother: “I never want to lose my mom. If I lose my mom, I will shed a lot of tears”.
The story struck me because I hadn’t considered that as a young child, I carried worries of looming loss. Now as an adult, I sometimes struggle with fears about losing someone I love. An anxious thought usually triggers it. It can ignite when my partner is late, or my parent does not pick up their phone. I brood about my loved ones in car crashes, medical emergencies, or other life-threatening events.
