Have you ever felt like you are going through these movements, getting nowhere or feeling any joy in life, not happy, not sad, just empty?
The things you once enjoyed may not matter to you anymore. Or you may lose motivation to do anything. You feel lonely, confused about your life or goals, or lack a vital purpose or underlying cause. Either way, the first step to improving mental health is understanding what you’re going through.
What does feeling empty mean?
First, understand that feeling empty, sad or angry is completely normal. No one can be happy, giddy, peaceful, or calm all the time. All emotions are feedback mechanisms that teach you something about yourself or your condition. Likewise, feeling empty is a sign of something, and you should treat it as one.
You can feel an emptiness in your heart for many reasons. But more likely are major changes in your living conditions, a traumatic or underlying event, staying in the same routine for an extended period, hormonal and biological changes, or mental health conditions.
If you feel empty, you will likely stop caring or investing in core activities such as self-care or maintaining supportive relationships. You are also more susceptible to bad habits, lifestyle choices, and generally poor care of your mental and physical health.
Void can be a sign of depression, but if you’re not feeling happy, sad, or just empty, it could be something else as well. If your feelings of emptiness are combined with bad moods and a loss of interest in activities for extended periods, you are more likely to have a chance of developing depression. In this case, or if your symptoms become too severe, you should see a licensed professional who can help give you an official diagnosis.
Read more: Do you suffer from depression? Know when to get help
How do you recover from being unhappy, not sad, just empty, and stay healthy?
1. Introduce diversity into your life: One important reason you feel empty is the lack of diverse vital goals or a strong sense of purpose in your life. You can offer variety by exploring opportunities you never took advantage of, meeting new people, and stepping out of your comfort zone.
2. Connect with others: Healthy and supportive people around you are a blessing. If you haven’t followed up on or interacted with old friends or loved ones recently, find opportunities to reconnect and show them that you value their presence in your life. A little gratitude goes a great way and can help you improve the quality of your current relationships and the ones you are about to have.
3. Take better care of yourself: As discussed above, feeling unhappy, not sad, but just feeling empty can lead you to neglect proper self-care. You can make a regimen of exercise, eat well, sleep and develop a daily routine. For mental self-care, you can take some time to relax, avoid indulging in harmful habits, and try to accept yourself.
4. Understand and validate your emotions: One part of accepting yourself is understanding your feelings. Self-validation is a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) technique that can help you do the same.
Read more: How do you validate yourself with the power of self validation?
conclusion
Feeling unhappy, not sad, just feeling empty is a completely normal feeling that points to an underlying cause. It may be due to changing life situations, hormones, traumatic events, routine, lack of purpose, or mental health. Self-awareness is an important part of identifying symptoms or what you’re experiencing. But many people lack self-awareness and are disconnected from a sense of meaning, purpose, or vision to move forward in life. Here is a blog post that explains The true meaning of self-awareness to help you find it.
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