depression help: Help, I feel empty and hopeless. - Help.com

thesoftattac
offline Verified (2 months, 4 weeks) Visit thesoftattac's shoutbox
An Unknown Location

Help, I feel empty and hopeless.

I have a problem which it is difficult for me to articulate into words. I don’t know if it is just that I am lonely, or if it is something more serious, like depression or some type of mental disorder. But I feel this kind of emptiness and negativity in my life. I spend a lot of time by myself, just thinking about things that I’ve done wrong, and ways that I might be able to fix my life; but I don’t know if there’s even anything to fix, and I’ve yet to stumble upon a life-changing epiphany. Sometimes it feels like I can’t really connect to other people either, and everything feels like a chore, except sitting in my room, alone. I’ve been this way, on-and-off, for several years now, and it feels like I’ve gotten caught in this endless cycle of apathy and despair.
This may seem like a bit of a non-sequitur, but bear with me. I have noticed that in many movies, books, and even anime series, the main characters have some difficult-to-identify quality which makes their lives seem enviable. I thought that if I could figure out what that quality was, I could try to pursue it in my own life in order to achieve happiness. So far, the best things I could come up with were a stronger sense of identity, and a greater connection to/investment in the world around them. Are these the things that I should be trying to achieve in order to become happier, or is it something else entirely? Should I just give up and see a shrink? Any advice is appreciated.

This open post was written 1 month, 1 week ago | V/U/S: 197, 11, 11 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post


Reciprocity (0) Reciprocation Failure -- The poster has NOT helped anyone else yet!

Since writing this post thesoftattac may have helped people, but has not within the last 4 days. thesoftattac is a verified member, has been around for 2 months, 4 weeks and has 14 posts and 42 replies to their name.

Post Tags (3)

Replies (11)

Where were you?

Click and drag to move the map around. FAQ: How we place people on this map »
You can also watch events on Help.com as they happen
Mouse over the map for 2 seconds to see an expanded, interactive view

HelpBot offline Verified User (0 minutes) Shouts: 2 #
San Francisco, CA, US | 1 month, 1 week ago (0 minutes after post)

If you are contemplating suicide, hurting yourself, or you are seriously depressed: please, seek professional help!

Call this hotline (1-800-273-8255) operated by our friends at the
Suicide Prevention Lifeline, anytime, for free, professional, and
confidential assistance. While other Help.com users are likely to reply
to your post, please make sure you understand that your use of Help.com
falls under our TOS.

Note: I’m a robot that the Help.com staff created. If this response is in error, I apologize, please ignore it.

fisheraliss offline Verified User (6 months, 3 weeks) Long Term User Shouts: 2 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (4 minutes after post)

Alright, I belive that you need yto go out and explore with other people. Hope from one person to another and see who you like and who don’t you like. Sure its going to be difficult at first because you’re used to being alone, but you will get used to it in time. I promise. I really think you should try to meet new people.

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
Andrew- X Marine offline Verified User (1 month, 2 weeks) Shouts: 2 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (41 minutes after post)

Yeah, I think your experiencing loneliness. Go make friends and continue to live your life with them. You might not “always” feel liking having someone around but times like this you most likely “want” someone around to talk to/hang out with/ chill with.

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
haystai offline Verified User (1 month, 1 week) Shouts: 0 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (58 minutes after post)

hey, you sound pretty darn articulate to me. Anyway, yeh, these characters your looking at are exactly that- ‘characters’. They’re not real, they don’t have anything special except our suspended disbelief. We believe they’re happy and fulfilled because we want to. Their purpose is for escapism or whatever. Normal people do feel inferior and lonely and like they need a cause but it just doesn’t exist. Feeling like this all the time isn’t cool though. Try to pin someone down to talk to about it, and if the problem isn’t loneliness, the solution still lies in unity. Just know that you’re not alone, feeling like this. The feeling has been attempted to be artiulated in all kinds of books and poems and films and things. Here’s some generic bits of advice- Only one life though. Carpe diam, man! a problem shared… etc. :) Best of luck

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
Helpe offline Unverified User #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (58 minutes after post)

You are seeking a path through life that will bring you happiness, wisdom, understanding, love and anything else that you may want. Some of the things you wish for in your life may not be the best for you or your growth. Many religions provide a path to follow but you may not feel any attractions to religion. Most people go through life focused on the material and have no clear ideas of personal growth. You are one of those who are beginning to look for spiritual growth.

In order to get over these negative feelings about your past mistakes you will get over them when you have learned the lessons that they imply. Some of these problems may take a long time to solve so you can also get over them by focusing on where you want to go.

I have found useful is an inscription on an ancient ring, “This too will pass”

Buddhism can help guide along the path but if you look into it in detail you will encounter the teaching that tells you not to rely on teachings. The path you take through life if you try to live it without help will include mistakes as well as successes, you must learn from your mistakes and successes.

An example would be - lets say you want to find happiness, you could start with the question “What is happiness?” hard to define exactly so you move on to “What makes me happy?” from there you can try to understand what will make you happy. Of course what makes you happy may not be what you think.

In my case, lots of things make me happy, breathing, water, story telling and so on.

A few things to look for, hope, freedom, truth, beauty, happiness, love, joy.

In Buddhism the ultimate mental state is called Nirvana and is described as Supreme Peace.

I hope this helps

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
This account has been deactivated.
Coalesce offline Verified User (1 year, 2 months) Long Term User Shouts: 31 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (1 hour, 2 minutes after post)

I think having a sense of purpose is important. Setting life goals and feeling like you are making progress toward them.

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
Anonymous #
1 month, 1 week ago (1 hour, 51 minutes after post)

I can relate to everything that was mentioned. I’ve thought about what could change my outlook on life, what could brin purpose and I can neverseem to find the answer. I have a lot of failures which I wish I never had. I always say I’m leaning from them and I appear to b coping uite well in reality I am not. I just don’t see the purpose on life sometimes. I don’t get how people cab willingly go along with working in the corporate world when ot doesn’t bring happiness. And yet a lit of times I think maybe I should just submit to the world and conform. Give up on my ambition to do something else because that’s all it is. I do t seek it, failure scares me, aso I sit in my room and dwell on failures and how my life should be.

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
oh.seungeu offline Verified User (1 month, 1 week) Shouts: 0 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (1 hour, 56 minutes after post)

I was in similar condition as you described for a short period.
I was well-brought up, a hard working college student, yet was feeling some sore inside for no obvious reason and sobbing inside even in normal daily life. I used to joke that my brain is junkyard, because I felt something must be wrong with my feeling. One summer, as I realized that this condition lasted many years and was getting worse, I thought to myself that I will investigate myself to figure out what’s wrong with me. So I sat in my room by myself, self-reflecting all through the summer. And I was chased by unclear thoughts and nebular remorse, and furthermore haunted by the fantasy of death of myself. I cried once before my mother, but was unable to explain. I tried various outlets, but they were didn’t touch the central part of my problem. After or before the summer(can’t remember), I sought a professional counselor but the 3-month long counseling felt irrelevant to me. I didn’t give up the yearning for some sort of ‘full life’ which seemed missing from me. (but my life was apparently productive by external standards) A year later, I moved to a different place for study, leaving my family. After a year and half living in the new environment, I was financially well, had a loving boyfriend, made friends and was not short of party calls on the weekends, but something in me must have hit the rock bottom with the realization that my efforts couldn’t bring the ‘fullness of life’ which I hoped for.
That is already 6 years ago and I have changed a lot. My life-change came not in a epiphanic enlightenment, but by gentle and persistent draw to my current friendship with Jesus Christ. I know how it sounds strange, but one thing I know is that I felt caged up inside, now I am freed. He is wonderful, loving, caring, powerful and extremely gentle. Wonderful thing is that when I go astray and pile up anxieties and worries (as well as envy/sins) upon myself, he knows it better than myself and bring me back to right mind. I heard that Augustine said we don’t find our true rest until we find it in God. This was true for me. Jesus is my peace.
I hope that you don’t feel alone in suffering such state of mind.
I suggest you to ask Jesus for help. If he is real as I said, he will surely help you. My wishes and prayers are for your freedom of inner person.

Cambridge MA, USA

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
michaeloj offline Unverified User #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (2 hours, 22 minutes after post)

Seeing a psychologist is NOT giving up! See a psychologist. What is the worst that can happen by speaking to a professional counselor?

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
This account has been deactivated.
serendipityio offline Verified User (1 month, 1 week) Shouts: 0 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (3 hours, 33 minutes after post)

I know how you feels, a man without a purpose is nothing, a nobody, but you have to take the first step of walking out of that cycle, you have to realize that no one can help you out but yourself, just go out and make some friends , talk to someone, remember life is how you make it, you can decide to live your life alone, or share your life with other nice people out there. it is all up to you .

best of luck

Peter, NY. USA.

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators
rl.ange offline Verified User (1 month, 1 week) Shouts: 0 #
An Unknown Location | 1 month, 1 week ago (10 hours, 34 minutes after post)

I found your observation fascinating; in that people who report the illusive quality of what we call “happiness” are most often caught being happy in performing some task they feel provides a reward.

i.e. I lifted 5 lbs yesterday and 6 lbs today.

Or planted a seed, and cultivated the plant until it had grown.

Identify one or two things that you enjoy doing. Make yourself begin to do those things whether you feel like it or not. If there’s an opportunity to share the activity with other people, most definately.

Quote this reply Report this reply to moderators

Invite Others to Help

A logged in and verified Help.com member has the ability to setup a Friends List and invite others to help with posts.