Assumptive World Theory: When Beliefs Shatter After Loss

Assumptive world theory, developed by psychologist Colin Murray Parkes, proposes that each person carries a set of deeply held assumptions about the world being safe, predictable, and meaningful, and that significant loss can violently shatter those assumptions, leaving a person disoriented and struggling to make sense of reality. The work of grief is partly the work of rebuilding a coherent worldview.

AI writing companions can support this rebuilding process by helping you articulate which assumptions were disrupted, explore new frameworks for understanding your changed world, and draft personal narratives that integrate loss into a revised but livable sense of meaning.