Having someone physically absent to you can bring with it a range of difficult emotions depending on the circumstances. Maybe a person has always been absent in your life or you are missing a pet. If you are estranged, you might feel conflicted with both anger and relief, and the experience be confusing for you. You could know where a person is but still feel the loss.

There may be yearning or longing for someone, an animal, place or anything you have become separated from - even through choice, or tragedy. Being in an environment which is unfamiliar may be challenging and you could experience cultural ambiguous loss.

​It may feel like the world you know is changing due to our ecological, biodiversity and climate crises and are aware of our natural world 'missing'. Perhaps you feel you are missing out by choosing not to have children in fear of what the future holds. You might relate to some other losses below:
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  • Missing person or pet
  • Estrangement
  • Living, travelling or working away from home or in the forces
  • Divorce or relationship breakdown, including domestic abuse
  • Someone moving into a care home, hospice, or in prison or hospital
  • Children leaving home
  • Emigration/Immigration
  • Missing in action due to war
  • Catastrophic tragedy, such as an accident e.g. building collapse
  • Natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, and tsunami
  • Absent parent/s or loss of contact
  • Child in foster care or adoption
  • Being displaced
  • Ecological, biodiversity and climate crises, loss of our natural world
  • Miscarriage, not being able to have children or missing out
  • Terrorism, ethnic cleansing, genocide
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