This research aims to describe the experience of loss, reveal the process of meaning, and identify things that are meaningful in early adult individuals after the death of a parent using a qualitative transcendental phenomenology approach. Involving three subjects aged 18–25 years, data was collected through in-depth interviews, observation and documentation which were analyzed using the Creswell method with the support of Notebook LM AI. Research findings reveal that the loss of a parent is a complex trauma that is not sequential, manifested emotionally through feelings of emptiness and physically through motor and respiratory disorders which indicate biological internalization of the trauma. The process of meaning-making triggers the phenomenon of "premature maturation" or parentification, where individuals experience a shift in identity from dependence to full responsibility while still maintaining emotional ties through internalization of parental values and strengthening spirituality based on the concept of "trust". The resilience and growth of post-traumatic subjects is driven by the synergy between social support, economic pressure, and acceptance of self-vulnerability as part of strengthening a new identity. Overall, making sense of loss functions as the main catalyst that turns tragedy into a driving force for forming a more mature, independent, and future-oriented individual identity.
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