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.
