Feeling stuck in a state of stagnation, a sense of emptiness, or just 'blah'? You're not alone. Welcome to the world of 'languishing', a term that encapsulates this all-too-common emotional state. Let's delve into understanding and navigating this gray area of mental health.

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness

It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.

  • And it might be the dominant emotion of 2021.
  • As scientists and physicians work to treat and cure the physical symptoms of long-haul Covid, many people are struggling with the emotional long- haul of the pandemic.

A name for what you’re feeling

Psychologists find that one of the best strategies for managing emotions is to name them

  • Languishing is common and shared
  • While finding new challenges, enjoyable experiences and meaningful work are all possible remedies to languishing, it’s hard to find flow when you can’t focus
  • Give yourself some uninterrupted time
  • Fragmented attention is an enemy of engagement and excellence
  • Computers may be made for parallel processing but humans are better off serial processing

Mental health on a spectrum

Flourishing is the peak of well-being: You have a strong sense of meaning, mastery, and matter to others

  • Depression is the valley of ill-being
  • You feel despondent, drained, and worthless
  • Languishing – the void between depression and flourishing

Languishing

When you can’t see your own suffering, you don’t seek help or even do much to help yourself.

  • Part of the danger is that when you’re languishing, you might not notice the dulling of delight or the dwindling of drive. You don’t catch yourself slipping slowly into solitude; you’re indifferent to your indifference.

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