The agony of Missing

Having something taken from your possession is a horrible feeling. The powerlessness and lack of control that it evokes are truly devastating. I experienced this recently when I was burgled, and my bicycle stolen from my hallway. I loved that bike. I had only had it a few months and never thought to lock it whilst it was hanging on its rack in the hall.

Having lost a bike, and experienced the volcano of emotions in the wake of the realisation that I may never see it again, I am still a long way off being able to truly appreciate what it is that the friends and families who are left behind when someone disappears go through.

I have recently spent quite a bit of time considering these experiences, and the implications of them for those who lose someone they care about. My loss whilst sad, and confusing is incomparable to the existential dilemma faced by anyone who has experienced the issue of missing. Having no clue where their loved one is, or what might have happened to them is mind-boggling, and inspires a wide range of responses which are not only highly individual, but variable over time reflecting circumstance.

Every year in the UK alone over 200,000 are reported missing. Whilst most are resolved relatively quickly, other disappearances continue for prolonged periods, leaving family members to cope with the pain of not knowing where their loved one is or what has happened to them.

Missing People is due to Pilot a novel therapeutic intervention for which I am the Clinical Lead. I have been thinking a lot about the relevance and utility of mindfulness based approaches for this unique population, in order to promote a better quality of life for those living 'in limbo'.

It seems to me that those living with so many unknowns might well find comfort in the tools mindfulness offers while benefitting from meeting together in a group setting, to share experience, strength and hope.

Comments

Table. Apple. Penny.

Whilst there were several places I might have been that morning, I wouldn't have been anywhere else. The practitioner from the Memory Service arrived promptly. I liked her instantly. Mum was nervous. I think I was a little, too. It's been a difficult year. "It's Friday, it's the fourteenth of December and I'm at home..." No problems there. CAMCOG, or the Cambridge Cognitive Examination is a thorough assessment tool used to assess the extent of extent of dementia, and to assess the level of cognitive impairment. The standardised measure assesses orientation, language, memory, praxis, attention, abstract thinking, perception and calculation. "Table. Apple. Penny." Three everyday items that were introduced at one point, and then referred to again later on. Again, Mum was able to recall each. I am reminded that the...

Glass half full? Glass half empty? Or perhaps the glass is broken

I am, constitutionally, a glass half empty gal. I will always first acknowledge what I don't have, what I have lost, and what it is that I am seeking. I tend to overlook my strengths, concentrating only on those bits of me that are underdeveloped or weak. I refer to myself as a realist, but in doing so compliment myself and insult those who genuinely are simply realistic. My modus operandi is to identify what's not working and acknowledge this before seeing more clearly what functions perfectly well. This has its place: I edit others' written work pretty well. My fastidious attention to detail serves me, and the author. Accuracy counts, for me and I have an excellent memory. I can remember a great many of my sessions with clients verbatim. Even this asset is something I can, and do, diminish the true value of, by concentrating on 'I should have said...' or 'why didn't.... occur to me during the session?' Earlier this we...

Joan Miro: Emotional Art

"Painting and poetry are like love; an exchange of blood, a passionate embrace, without restraint, without defence. The picture is born of an overflow of emotions and feelings." Miro, The Farm 'La Masia' (1921-22) I learnt a great deal about Miro on a recent visit to the Tate. I learnt a great deal about a lot more too. Miro wanted to discover the sources of human feeling. He described his method of creating poetry by way of painting, using a vocabulary of signs and symbols, metaphors and dream images to express definite themes he believed to be fundamental to human existence. The exhibition displays his sense of humor and lively wit. His chief concern was a social one; he wanted to get close to the great masses of humanity, and he was convinced that art can only truly appeal when it resonates with roots of lived experience. "Wherever you are, you find the sun, a blade of grass, the spirals of the dragonfly. Courage cons...

The Reward is the Journey

Search This Blog