Why is my life meaningless


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  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

    Also visit the online treatment locator.

SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service), or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.

Also visit the online treatment locator, or send your zip code via text message: 435748 (HELP4U) to find help near you. Read more about the HELP4U text messaging service.

The service is open 24/7, 365 days a year.

English and Spanish are available if you select the option to speak with a national representative. Currently, the 435748 (HELP4U) text messaging service is only available in English.

In 2020, the Helpline received 833,598 calls. This is a 27 percent increase from 2019, when the Helpline received a total of 656,953 calls for the year.

The referral service is free of charge. If you have no insurance or are underinsured, we will refer you to your state office, which is responsible for state-funded treatment programs. In addition, we can often refer you to facilities that charge on a sliding fee scale or accept Medicare or Medicaid. If you have health insurance, you are encouraged to contact your insurer for a list of participating health care providers and facilities.

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No, we do not provide counseling. Trained information specialists answer calls, transfer callers to state services or other appropriate intake centers in their states, and connect them with local assistance and support.

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Last Updated: 08/30/2022

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Life is meaningless or why does it sometimes seem so? 7 decisions

If life is meaningless, it's time to become a fool. Strange connection? Philosophical questions, including the topic of the meaning of life, are the problem of smart people. Sooner or later, a thinking person deepens into thoughts about the destination, the highest mission, the ultimate goal. It may even be a good thing that this dilemma remains unresolved, because, having reached its peak, what would a person do next? Is it better to be a joyful fool who does not think about something global? And how can one learn to be happy if the meaning of earthly joys does not want to be revealed?

1.

Argue with yourself.

This is one of the psychological tricks. The psychotherapist turns the situation around so that the patient begins to contradict himself, to seek a refutation of his own thoughts. However, this technique can be carried out independently, without the help of a specialist. How to do it? A few steps:

  1. to form an initial phrase, a starting point from which the dialogue will continue. In this case, these are the words "Life is meaningless";
  2. add an argument in favor of the main statement, for example: "My life has no meaning, because I do not benefit this world";
  3. mentally create yourself as an opponent who believes in the opposite point of view;
  4. find a counterargument to the initial phrase, for example: “I am useful, because I help people / make someone happy / contribute to the development of the country (+ description of a specific example)”;
  5. continue to build a dialogue according to the “argument-counterargument” scheme, alternately taking the side of both personal opinions.

The beauty of this method is that all the answers are in yourself, your own subconscious. At the same time, special skills, complex spiritual quests are not needed here. The main thing is to start, and the thought will float like a river. Similar practices are also carried out with friends, when someone close defends the opinion of meaninglessness, and the person herself tries to convince a friend of the opposite. You can record the dialogue in a notepad or tape recorder, but oral practices without memorization are no less effective.

Take the test: optimist or pessimist

2. Become an eyewitness to beauty.

Living for the sake of beauty, goodness, without seeing the real manifestations of these qualities, is unlikely to succeed. Before falling into depression, putting an end to your existence, it is better to see all this live. What is meant by beautiful:

  • someone's sincere joy;
  • manifestations of kindness, a reaction to it;
  • expression of parental instinct, both in humans and animals;
  • budding, flowering, especially in spring;
  • natural scenery untouched by man;
  • completion of a masterpiece by a master;
  • changes in the appearance and inner world of a person for the better;
  • getting well or receiving something long-awaited, etc.

Perhaps the meaning of life is not a point, but a process. And someone will find it precisely in the creation or creation of beauty, goodness. Become a part of something good, beautiful, actively support it, develop it - why not a meaningful life?

3. Increase requests.

Andrei is a university graduate, self-confident and sees no barriers. His main goal is to become a lawyer. Six months after graduation, he gets a job as an assistant in a law office. Six months later, for the good performance of duties, he is given the first case. A dream come true - the guy became a lawyer. What's next? And then the recruit sets another goal - to win the first case. Soon this aspiration becomes a reality.

Recognition, thanks from the client, new business. The next task is to successfully close a more complex hearing. Immediately or not, but the young man copes with this. What then?

But nothing, routine, melancholy, a gray day is replaced by a similar one. There is no plan, no installations either, but the thought appears that everything around is meaningless, and there is no need to live. How to be in such cases?

Set the bar higher. A lawyer may wish to receive a state award, go to work abroad, become the hero of an article in a newspaper. The more difficult it is to implement the plan, the more valued life with all the victories.

4. Conduct an "inventory" of the past.

Does it feel like all the years you have lived have gone in vain? However, it does not happen that a century is lived, and no trace is left. Each person is followed by a chain of his steps, some of them are kind, good. To remember them means to doubt the theory of the meaninglessness of one's existence. How to do it:

  1. create a calm and comfortable environment - dim the lights, turn on quiet pleasant music, light aroma sticks. Make sure that nothing and no one distracts;
  2. take a comfortable posture. It is better to lie down, relaxing your muscles, but you can also relax half-sitting;
  3. get rid of unnecessary thoughts - daily worries, problems, feelings of guilt, jealousy, etc. ;
  4. start remembering your good deeds, saying them out loud, thanking yourself for doing them;
  5. continue in the same vein, call what comes to mind first, even the most ridiculous at first glance.

One can thank oneself for helping others, big, generous steps. And you can be grateful to yourself even for the fact that in childhood you ate porridge well, without causing trouble to your parents. Every little thing matters. The first 5-10 actions will be easy to remember, the next ten will be much more difficult. But then the thoughts themselves will begin to pour out, surprising their master. If so much has been done, then life was not in vain. And with such thoughts, you can continue to benefit the world.

Take the test: introvert or extrovert?

5. Study other people's meanings.

If you can't find your own reason for existence, why not peek through the crack at others? Not everyone around thinks about the meaning, but their goals are immediately visible. Most often these are such aspirations:

  • family, children, home;
  • love, long life together with beloved partner;
  • material security for many years;
  • popularity, high status in society, power;
  • self-realization in a career or hobby, recognition;
  • good, spiritual enrichment, service to an idea or people;
  • continuous self-development;
  • pleasure.

It would be nice to pass these categories through yourself, to feel them. No, you don’t need to adopt a child, hang self-promotion posters, or give up everything to drink wine all day long, eating it with noble cheeses. You can devote more time to your loved one or his search, sit with your little nephews, arrange a small charity event. This will be enough. But such tests will help you learn about your perception of different aspects of life. The experiment will tell you what the soul lies in.

Meanings can intertwine. Often a person strives for two or more goals - family and love, work and self-realization, money and pleasure. Finding a balance between these parts is a difficult but important task.

6. Take a step back.

If nonsense intertwines the days of the present and the future, this does not mean that it was in the past. People with lost interest in the current, future time were once happy. Babies are not born with an expression of meaninglessness on their faces. This is an acquired disease.

If so, then it is better to remember the years when all life seemed necessary and valuable. What happened next, what was the turning point? There are several options:

  • psychological trauma;
  • disappointment in people or one's own goal;
  • awareness of the unattainability of dreams;
  • loss of a person, important thing, motive;
  • criticism, obstacles;
  • laziness or fatigue.

Stumbling over such obstacles, a person begins to wonder whether it was worth starting the struggle at all, what it leads to. There is a second wind, luck, a happy accident, help - and he gets out. But not everyone is lucky.

If there really was a turning point, it is better to try to overcome it, to continue moving forward. A few snags along the way will make the loot even more desirable. Relatives, like-minded people or psychologists will help to cope with moral decline.

7. Stop looking for meaning.

Maybe, well, this is the meaning? Why ask questions that obviously cannot be answered unambiguously? Sometimes heavy thinking is a sign of developing depression. Get rid of it, you can again heal safely.

Going to a beauty salon, ordering sushi, walking with your beloved dog may not be the meaning of life, but they give a lot of joy. Perhaps the feeling of these small particles of happiness is the main goal of human existence. And the universe will take care of more.

If it seems that life is pain, life is meaningless, this is not a reason to give up, to show indifference to yourself or others. Don't see the point now? Who will guarantee that it will not appear in a year, a month or even a minute? You can keep looking for reasons to wake up in the morning. These searches will already become a distraction, they will give some purpose. And you can just go with the flow, without puzzling over philosophical questions, enjoy every moment that an unpredictable fate gives.

Take a depression test

Came to the conclusion that my life is meaningless

Came to the conclusion that …

#1

#2

#3

Guest

Better spend your savings on house repairs and live there or sell the house. This is real estate.

#4

#5

It is better to spend accumulations for the repair of the house and live there or the sale of the house. This is real estate.

#6

#7

Femka

If you keep lying down, nothing will change in your life. Why is there no education? Is there a certificate? In the summer admissions campaign, go to college Or a vocational school - to be a cook, or a secretary, for example. Here, with education, it is difficult to find a job to your liking, and you still turn your nose from work. Get up and combine work and study. 14 June 2021 There are few savings left. I wouldn't have had enough of them. A house in the village costs 300 thousand and I see no reason to sell it

#9,0003

#10

Guest

You are on the dating site

#11

Meghan Markle

Durge Take something of the child DOTH

#12

Elsa

is already familiar with foreigners. Basically everyone is older than me. I met with an American, but because of the covid, everything was covered. Yes, and there was no love on my part

#13

Forum Queen 2021

The meaning of life is to fulfill your dreams, step by step.
Do you have dreams?
By the way, I also burn out quickly, so I learn something new and change my profession. It is not scary if there is no higher education. If you have a head, then the courses are perfect.

#14

Guest if you respect him, that's a lot

#15

Elza

Now I am trying to graduate from my university, which I dropped out a few years ago. But this education is just like a crust for me, I don’t see myself in this profession.
I'm just tired of being alone in this life and I can't solve problems, I'm going into depression. And the years go by and there is no gap

#17

Femka

What are you interested in? Invest in the education you love. MB manicure, make-up artist, hairdresser, photographer. Now you can promote your services through Instagram. In general, now there are so many opportunities, if there is a desire.

#18

Guest

That's the problem, that there are no interests. Life seems empty and meaningless. I would gladly change if I could

#19

#20,0003

9000 #21

GOST

GOST

GOST

GOSTIC The vaginka ended its golden years when it was really interesting for men, and it turned out, SUDDENLY!, that you have to earn money yourself, and they themselves are nothing. So, a piece of vagina on legs, no more.

#22

Vasily

Yes, there is no future ahead.

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#23

Alexander Khoruzhy

I also read your topic about loneliness, I will write to the mail later. 14 June 2021 This is real estate.

#25

Chamomile

Savings to spend - it's you in vain, invest better in real estate, at least for a contribution. And for the rest - I just hug, I have the same life in life, I'm 27, my education is not complete, the work is routine and boring - I hate my office with all my heart, I can't save anything either, and there are few friends, and then all the families, different interests - every year we are getting further...

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#27

Kamila Sidorova

What kind of nonsense are you writing?

#28

Guest

The author, do not blame yourself, anyone in your place would be confused, fell into despondency. I understand you very well. It seems to me that you need money for motivation and good mood, I have never been motivated by a penny at work either, just “depression”. Although I have a higher education, it never came in handy. I like you, 27 soon. She worked for 8 years in sales, as an administrator in duty-free stores in St. Petersburg. They paid well there, though not a prestigious job, it would seem. As a rule, they pay well in sales, and they do not look at education there. Can you try yourself in this area? If you know English, even better. Believe me, most people have such depressing thoughts from time to time, even when everything is fine in life. I think that in our case, these are the first crises, 27 years is almost maturity, you begin to analyze your life, anxiety appears. But with a good salary, it will be easier to survive such moments. You can distract yourself, go on a trip or find a new hobby. Having few friends is the norm. It’s the same for me, everyone has their own worries with age, including family and children, people begin to move away. It just needs to be experienced. I would advise you to invest in your knowledge and skills. For example, I learned a second language when I lost my job and sat at home for a year. It will always come in handy, and you think less about the bad when your head is working. I also got a cat that requires a lot of attention) I want to wish you inspiration, strength and energy, may everything work out for you!

#29

Guest

The truth seems like nonsense to the vagina, because the convolution is the same around the vagina.


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