The feeling of emptiness is something that most people experience at some point in their lives. If you find no meaning in your life, there is nothing that excites you and you feel as if you have nothing, you are most likely going through a period of existential emptiness.
The worst thing is that this feeling of emptiness does not come alone, but It is accompanied by other feelings such as anhedonia, loneliness and a feeling of not fitting in, of being disconnected. of the world in which he lives.
Causes of feeling empty
The feeling of feeling empty can be caused by various reasons. The most common is that having lost a loved one, either through death or separation. Not seeing the person we love so much again for a long time or even forever can break all our life patterns and trigger a feeling of inner emptiness.
It is very common when a child you have been with your whole life leaves home or when a couple breaks up.
Another cause may be due to the job loss. When you lose him, all your dreams, expectations and goals are gone since they depended on him. A drastic change of life like having to move to another country or a long illness They can also be the cause of this emotional void.
These stages are associated with uncertainty and often involve major changes in future life plans.
However, despite all these causes, you should know that they only act as triggers. The feeling of emotional emptiness is not only due to loss, it is also related to the “self”.
We feel like we are losing touch with ourselves.
Existential emptiness is a dissociation that involves the loss of contact with oneself. It is basically as if we disconnected from ourselves and we started living life without any interest. As if our life had no meaning and we simply live by obligation.
The fact is that while We were focused on a specific goal or person and we did not pay attention to ourselves.to what was happening and to what we needed. For that reason, at the base of the existential void A state of frustration is hidden, caused by false objectiveslongings, dashed expectations and destroyed goals.
As a result, the feeling of emptiness It involves a problem of accepting oneself and one inability to find new goals and objectives to give meaning to your life.
When can it happen?
As we have already mentioned, this It can happen at any stage of our lifedue to the death of a family member, finishing a degree and not knowing what to do, being fired from work, a hard blow to a relationship, etc. It is very common that feelings appear and intensify.
In that case we We stop attending to the needs of our body and somehow gives rise to manifestations that function as an alarm signal to change what we do daily.
When we do not attend to our emotional needs the void appears.
How can we cope with emotional emptiness?
It is essential that you do not take refuge in behaviors that hurt you just to hide that emotional void. The first step to making that feeling go away is to acknowledge it.
Don't reject it or try to hide it, talk to yourself and to others and express that you feel empty.
You should not get angry or feel bad about yourself.that feeling only means that your life needs a new direction and you have to set new goals and objectives.
2. Take the void as an opportunity
According to various studies, the feeling of emptiness It is experienced differently depending on the culture you belong to.
In the In Taoist and Buddhist philosophy, the feeling of emptiness is considered a positive thing because it means that we are not attached to anything. For this reason, although in Western culture the existential void is seen as something bad, you can change your way of seeing it and assume it as another stage in your life that has appeared so that you can change and experience new alternatives.
Even though feeling empty is not pleasant, It is a sign that it is time to changeit is not a negative thing.
3. Stop looking outside, look inside yourself
Let me tell you that the emptiness you feel cannot be filled with literally nothing, it can only be filled with symbols that have special meaning to you.
This means that what fulfills a person and gives meaning to their life may not work for you.
Searching for meaning is a very personal thing, You have to look inside yourself and see what you need. You must find your own meanings, what excites and motivates you.
4. Spend time with yourself
The existential void It is a disconnection from yourselfFor a long time you have neglected yourself and have not thought about yourself. It is very important that you start exploring What are you afraid of and what are your hopes and dreams to do?that way you will find great meaning in your life.
You may not feel comfortable at first, but When you take better care of yourself and get to know yourself better, that emptiness will disappear.
As we have already said, when you feel a void it is usually because you have disconnected from yourself and have stopped thinking about your needs. Probably you have begun to put the needs of others before your own and because of this, your “self” has weakened.
It's time to think about you. Every time you do something well, congratulate yourself on your achievements and so on with everything.Your self-esteem will be strengthened and you will begin to have more confidence in yourself. You will notice how that inner emptiness gradually disappears.
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If you don't hesitate to go to a specialist when you have any physical pain, why not do the same when the pain is emotional? Try a free therapy session at and learn how psychological support helps you improve your life and achieve the goals you set for yourself.
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Is it permanent?
The inner emptiness is something that appears and gives us the feeling that it will never go away. We think that we have everything to be happy, but we are not, that we are missing something. However, This is something completely temporary.
You should follow the advice and steps we have mentioned above on how to deal with it and you will see that over time it will pass. The most important thing is to look to the future with hope, to worry about yourself and what you need, and to set new goals.
If after all this you still feel that feeling of emotional emptiness It is best to opt for psychological help. They will help you with specialized therapy to make your internal emptiness disappear.
How can a psychologist help build a bright future?
Illusion is something that It helps us not to give up, to give us strength and motivation so we can achieve our goals. long-term goals that we have set for ourselves.
It is true that things do not excite us the same the first time we do them as when we have done them many times. For this very reason Not only do we have to have dreams, we also have to renew them so that they do not run out.
Psychologists can give some advice on how to achieve this dream and look forward to a bright future. Some of those tips are:
- Observe yourself: They will help you know what you need, what can help you and what can't.
- Detecting your emotions: They teach you to realize what emotions we feel at any given moment, as they will help us know if we will regain our hope or not.
If there is only fear, sadness or anger, they will help us fight it and work on it through therapy.
- Putting your life in order: schedules, making the most of time, eating well or spending time with family or friends are the bases for recovering enthusiasm.
- Appreciate the little moments: Starting to enjoy what we have and the little things can pave the way to regaining our hope.
- Do things you like: walking, drawing, painting, singing, dancing, knitting, etc. The first thing a psychologist will tell you is that to cultivate enthusiasm you have to do things that fulfill you.
- Forgive yourself: We always tend to be very hard on ourselves, if we stop doing it we will see life more positively.
- Feasible Illusions: We have to stop setting unrealistic goals. If we focus our hopes on things that we can do and achieve, the hope will come by itself.
- Without effort there is no illusion: Psychologists will help you find the strength to avoid being trapped in hopelessness without hope. Small hopes are what build our lives with hope.
If after reading this article you have any questions, our psychologists at will answer them for you.
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