The experience of being lost

In this study, the experience of being lost was explored through phenomenological interviews and essays submissions from 55 participants from the University of Tennessee. When asked to talk and write about some times when they were lost, participants described situations ranging from being geographically lost while hiking or driving, to being psychologically lost while going through a divorce or after the death of someone close. Several participants also discussed feeling spiritually lost, describing a loss of purpose or a lack of meaning in their lives. In each of these situations, participants reported similar emotional reactions which were organized into two reciprocally figural thematic structures: the experience of the self when lost – lonely, confused, changed, and helpless, and the experience of the world when lost - no landmarks, unfamiliar, different and dangerous. Both the situational categories and the thematic structures are presented with appropriate supportive interview and essay excerpts and these results are discussed in terms of metaphoric and therapeutic implications