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Assumptive World Theory: When Loss Shatters Beliefs

Loss doesn't just take a person—it upends the beliefs you built your life around: that the world is safe, that bad things happen to other people, that relationships last. Rebuilding means not just accepting the loss, but consciously reconstructing how you understand yourself, others, and what's possible.

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Why It Matters

Assumptive world theory, developed by psychologist Colin Murray Parkes, holds that people operate from a set of core assumptions about safety, fairness, and continuity, and that traumatic loss can shatter those foundational beliefs all at once.

AI writing and reflection tools can help you articulate which assumptions have been disrupted and begin the slow work of rebuilding a revised but livable worldview after devastating loss.

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