Join Mike and Friends TONIGHT for "A Missing Day!" with Warriors for Life (WFL)

Col (Ret) Mikel Burroughs
Oct 9
5 min read

Join our Volunteer, Army Combat Medic Veteran, & Music Writer/Producer Mike Williams TONIGHT for "Mike Check" edition of Warriors for Life (WFL) Online, sponsored and presented by Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV).

We are asking everyone to share who we are and what support that Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV) is providing via WFL. If you know someone who is a veteran, first responder or a family member/caregiver, please ask them to join us for at least one meeting so they can learn more about what we do and how they can share their wisdom with others who may be able to learn from them.

TONIGHT's Topic: "A Missing Day!"

Join Mike & Friends TONIGHT for a discussion about "A Missing Day!" with a focus on the haunting reflection on time and healing.

Switching to the Gregorian calendar, initiated by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, corrected the inaccuracies of the Julian calendar by skipping 10 days in October, moving from October 4 to October 15. This correction was necessary because the Julian calendar's slight inaccuracy had caused seasonal events like the vernal equinox to drift over centuries. The transition was not immediate for all countries, with some, like Britain and its colonies, not switching until 1752, resulting in an 11-day difference at that time.

Why the switch was necessary

Calendar drift:
The Julian calendar was based on a year that was approximately 11 minutes longer than the actual solar year.
Accumulated error:
This small difference accumulated over centuries, causing the calendar to be out of sync with the solar year by about 10 days by the 16th century.
Seasonal impact:
The drift affected the date of seasonal events, such as the vernal equinox, and the calculation of the date for Easter.

How the switch happened

Initial correction:
To align with the solar year, 10 days were removed from October 1582 in countries that adopted the new calendar immediately. Thursday, October 4 was followed directly by Friday, October 15.
Refined leap year rule:
The Gregorian calendar also refined the leap year rule to improve long-term accuracy: century years are now only leap years if they are divisible by 400.
Gradual adoption:
The transition was gradual. Catholic countries in Europe adopted it first, but Protestant and Orthodox countries were initially hesitant.Britain and its colonies, for example, did not switch until 1752, when they had to skip 11 days.

"Some pain belongs to the days that vanish, some to the ones that remain."

Many mental health conditions distort your perception of time, causing you to lose track of days. This is often caused by dissociation, a coping mechanism where your mind detaches from reality to protect itself from overwhelming emotions.

Dissociation and memory gaps

Dissociation is a psychological response to overwhelming stress or trauma that makes you feel disconnected from your thoughts, feelings, or sense of identity. This can lead to significant gaps in memory.

Emotional numbness: Your mind may disconnect to shield you from intense emotional or physical pain, leading to emotional numbness.
Amnesia: Dissociative amnesia is the inability to recall personal information, often surrounding a traumatic event. The memory isn't gone, but it becomes inaccessible.
Out-of-body feeling (Depersonalization): You may feel detached from yourself, as if you are watching a movie of your life.
Reality feels unreal (Derealization): Your surroundings and other people may seem foggy or dreamlike, causing time to feel distorted.

Depression and a slowing of time

Depression can significantly alter how you perceive time, which can contribute to the feeling of missing days. While some research shows that people with depression can still accurately measure time intervals, their subjective experience is that time feels incredibly slow.

A dragging passage of time: For someone with depression, the passage of time can feel "interminable," "dragging," and "viscous".
Reduced mental activity: A lack of motivation and energy can cause a perceived "slow passage of time".
Preoccupation with the past: A depressive focus on the past and fatalistic outlook on the present can cause you to disengage from the here and now.

Anxiety and racing thoughts

While depression often slows time, anxiety can make it feel like time is speeding up or is out of control. This can also lead to the sensation of lost days because your mind is overstimulated and your attention is fractured.

Fractured attention: Your focus is split between the task at hand and worrying about future threats, which diverts your attention from present-moment time awareness.
Hyper-awareness and dilation: Intense anxiety can make your internal clock run faster, making seconds feel like minutes. In contrast, generalized anxiety can stretch out the perception of time, making days feel longer.
Time blindness: A persistent struggle to manage or perceive the passing of time is known as "time blindness," and it is associated with several mental health conditions, including anxiety.

Other related factors

Beyond the specific effects of mental health disorders, other conditions can also contribute to the feeling of missing days.

Brain fog: Many mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, can cause brain fog. This symptom affects memory, concentration, and mental clarity, which makes it harder to remember how you spent your time.
Sleep disturbances: The disrupted sleep patterns common with mental health conditions like anxiety and depression can also contribute to brain fog and make it difficult to remember what happened during the day.
Cognitive overload: When your mind is overwhelmed with excessive data or racing thoughts, it can struggle to focus and accurately track the passage of time.

What you can do

If you feel like you are missing days, it is important to speak with a healthcare provider. A mental health professional can help identify the underlying cause and recommend appropriate treatment.

In the meantime, consider these strategies to help regain a sense of the present:

Create a routine: A structured schedule can help you stay grounded in the present and provide an external framework for time.
Grounding exercises: When you feel detached, focus on your immediate surroundings using techniques like the "5-4-3-2-1" method to bring yourself back to the present moment.
Practice mindfulness: Engaging in mindfulness practices can help you stay connected to the present and gain awareness of your racing thoughts.
Journal: Writing down your thoughts and daily activities can help you organize your experiences and track the passage of time.

How Time Promotes Healing

TONIGHT Mike Williams shares his Music

"TBD"

Warriors for Life (WFL) Online "Mike Check" edition presented by Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV) — Friday (TONIGHT), October 10, 2025, @ 3:00 PM PT, 4:00 PM MT, 5:00 PM CT, & 6:00 PM ET

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83145057228

Thank you,

Mike Williams,

Army Combat Medic Veteran, Music Writer/Producer, & Volunteer Facilitator, Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV)