Ask Maeve: Frantic About Lost Keys. Is This Common?

Maeve helps a reader control anxiety after her spouse misplaces keys.

My husband misplaced his keys today. They vanished after returning from a walk. I found them later tangled in the dog leash, but felt frantic during the hours that they were gone. Is this common? Are there emotions everyone feels when valuable things are misplaced? – Sandy, Ontario, Canada

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Dear Sandy,

Great question! I can relate to this situation as I recently misplaced my own #keys. I found them on the desk at my #office the next day, but during the evening they were missing I went from disbelief to loss to anger to frustration to self-doubt. Quite an emotional roller-coaster ride!

My emotions were tied to the loss of a cute little keychain, which I had purchased on a trip to Europe, as well as fretting over the cost of replacing everything, as the keys for my home are custom. I felt careless, irresponsible, sad and plain old dumb.

The #emotions that come up in these situations are different for everybody, but it's common to feel shame or embarrassment from the loss of control, and your frantic feeling is definitely a normal reaction. On most days, life is a routine; we don’t lose our keys, we don’t lose track of important people or things, or have mindless slip-ups, like perhaps cutting our fingers while slicing food.

When we do happen to lose something, it’s a good reminder that in life there are hiccups, and as careful and intentional as we may be, we can’t see them all coming. We should take them in stride. #mindfulness

In the end, I’m glad that you found the keys. And next time you find yourself franticly searching for a lost treasure, take a step back, slow down, or press pause, and remind yourself that this is just a slip-up. Sometimes in life we are just a little out of sync with our own world, and that’s OK! #presspause