Why is it uninteresting to live and how to fight it?

Loss of meaning in life or apathy It happens that life appears before us in gray. Much begins to seem meaningless, and everything that is happening is felt as something predetermined and uncontrolled. In some ways, the taste of life is lost and what appears in psychology as is the apathy of .Life is no longer of interest.

Contents

1 How and why do we lose meaning
2 Apathy and crisis periods
3 How can this be experienced?
- 3.1 Case from practice
4 Apathy and dangerous consequences

How and why do we lose the meanings of

Immediately we stipulate that the concept of the meaning of life is too theoretical and only note that we ourselves create the meaning of our being. And this is important, because having lost what we have long and persistently created, we are facing absolute uncertainty.

So, let's briefly outline the reasons for the loss of interest in life:

a sharp change in life habits( places of work, residence, circle of communication, etc.);

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loss of significant people( both in terms of parting, and because of less than pleasant reasons);
life "on the edge" - long-term stressors;
chronic fatigue, no time for yourself.

Note that we named the reasons, which are mostly of a social nature. But not always only they can explain the loss of interest in life.

Most often, apathy is only a symptom of clinical depression. Rarely is a negative symptom of schizophrenia, and sometimes - a consequence of somatic disorders and neurological diseases. Also, apathy can be a side effect of taking antipsychotics.

To exclude the dangers of physical health, a person needs to clearly define the period when he felt his life become boring. So, apathy is a symptom expressed in strong, and sometimes total indifference to what is happening around, loss of interest and the desire to do something.

And at the same time, apathy is a way of protecting the psyche from severe and chronic stress.

Stresses take a lot of mental resources. In response, the nervous system triggers an "emergency braking", which protects the person from the final emotional burnout.

Apathy and crisis periods

But apathy is sometimes "normative".Often changes in periods of life, transitional and crisis periods are accompanied by loss of interest in life. In principle, this is normal. To give a vivid example, try to remember yourself at the age of 14-16.

Transient age and apathy

Fig.1 - Loss of interest in life in adolescence is one example of a normal reaction to the change of periods of life.

This period is the time to leave childhood and at the same time not to enter adulthood - a unique crisis period, which is accompanied by a loss of interest in what was valuable before and attempts to find something that can bring a teenager closer to the adult world, an attempt to findA new "meaning of life."

The same happens later. However, in each case only the intensity of "uninteresting" is different. Such meaningless periods can occur in a person's life at the age of 25, 30, 45 years and correspond to entry into an active adult life, development in the social plan( career), and the period of evaluation of their achievements.

Not always sensation of senselessness of life has a destructive character - sometimes it is only a means of parting with the old and clearing the place under something new.

And the less satisfaction at each stage, the more likely we will face depression and apathy. A big role here is played by our level of claims and self-esteem( see "How to gain self-confidence in a man").A person who thinks of himself as the king of the world, but who has not progressed along the social ladder, is more likely to be on the verge of deep apathy than a man who has proved by his own labor that he can achieve much.

How can I survive?

We find the answer in the question itself. If we can say about apathy that this is a consequence of a change in life periods - we have nothing left but to accept the fact of our dissatisfaction and try to live quietly this period. This does not mean that it's worth to hide your fears, emotions and fears. On the contrary - to share them with relatives - means to ease this difficult period.

At the same time, you should not just wait, that everything "will pass" by itself. This does not happen. It is necessary to actively seek and try what seems attractive. Experience shows that this can be absolutely "unusual" for a person things.

Case from practice

As an example, I will cite a case from practice: a man of 32 years old, a successful interpreter lost "colors in life", although objectively he estimated the quality of his life to be above the average. The problem was that he refused to find a new self. By chance, the group with him was a parachute instructor who proposed "something new".The parachute jump was the powerful stimulus that showed that life does not close on us. Two years later, the psychologist who worked with this group, said that the newly minted "parachutist" immigrated and performed the CCM on parachuting.

Getting new emotions

Fig.2 - Sometimes, to get out of the state of apathy, it is enough to try something new, to get new emotions.

It's another matter if the cause of loss of interest in life is constant stress, psychological stress or chronic fatigue. In such cases, the only correct solution is to break the vicious circle that takes away our resources. However, not everyone can just get rid of disruptive factors.

In such cases psychotherapeutic groups will become an excellent assistant, aimed at gaining self-confidence and self-disclosure. Sometimes it is enough for us to ask ourselves some frank questions in order to better understand our "I" and begin to respect what is really dear to us.

And, probably, the most valuable advice - find help in the family. It is the family that is the best psychotherapist. Helping your children, sharing leisure time and simple dialogues with your beloved woman, if you do not become a new sense of life, at least help you survive a difficult period of apathy with minimal losses for your mental resources.

Apathy and dangerous consequences

As we have already noticed, apathy is often only the tip of the iceberg. Under the guise of indifference lies the deepest dissatisfaction with life and depression, which require correction.

Loss of interest in life left without treatment( like any other psychological symptom) can lead to serious problems, including somatic.

Apathy can lead to asthenia - chronic fatigue and shabby, a feeling of complete frustration and a lack of desire to live. In turn, asthenia can be masked by neurotic manifestations, somatic symptoms, among which there are often:

migraines and headaches;
chronic gastrointestinal disorders;
Allergies;
cardiac disorders.

Moreover, neglected "boredom" can cause suicidal attempts. In particular, if a person is in an objectively difficult situation( for example, a lack of funds for the normal provision of the family).

Among other dangers of refusing to overcome apathy is aggressive behavior and various addictions. Unfortunately, the prolonged loss of interest in life very often leads to alcoholism, and in its most severe forms. The level of domestic violence, general aggressiveness can grow.

An important role here is played by close people: they are the first to notice the changes. Sometimes it is worth to listen to what they have noticed. Perhaps this will be the key to solving the problem of the meaninglessness of life.

We hope your life is full of interesting events, people and meanings!

Doctor-psychologist Borisov OB B.

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