How can you explain the feeling of emptiness? It may seem difficult to describe and empathize with a sensation that by its definition indicates that something is not there. In fact, the feeling of emptiness is one of the most complex mental aspects, whose continuity ranges from being a universal human experience, in which each person comes into contact with themselves and from which they can get the opportunity to know themselves and grow, to a feeling of confusion in one’s perception related to some psychopathological disorders.
In this Psychology-Online article we will see together What is existential emptiness and how to overcome it.
What is existential emptiness?
The existential void is a feeling of deep lack, absence of stimuli and isolation between oneself and the rest of the world. This state of insensitivity is not rooted in negative feelings, but rather is due to an underlying apathy that consumes those who experience it from within.
In these cases there is no joy or sorrow, only emptiness and, in a short time, this feeling will cause a lack of trust in others and on a personal level. The existential emptiness, therefore, consumes the body’s energies and demotivates the spirit.
Profiles of existential emptiness
Emotional anesthesia and the feeling of emptiness occur persistently in the following psychopathological profiles:
- Narcissistic people: She will often try to eliminate the existential void by looking for relationships that can offer her strong emotions and, consequently, fill the void so as not to perceive the inner discomfort.
- depressed people: It often originates as a consequence of the lack of a goal, absence of pleasure or even an unsatisfactory existence that leads to the search for unhealthy ways that can fill the feeling of emptiness or distract from inner suffering.
- People with eating disorders: strong pain and internal emotional emptiness that they often fill compulsively with food as a defense against unmanageable emotions.
Symptoms of existential emptiness
The different ways of experiencing the sensation of emptiness can overlap, repeat, or be experienced individually. Below, we show you the main symptoms of existential emptiness:
Temporary boredom due to lack of active needs
Generally, in these cases the sense of emptiness emerges after a definitive failure or, paradoxically, after achieving an important goal with which the person feels empty because they no longer have a goal to aspire to.
When this lack of purpose is added to the inability to make decisions autonomously, to impose one’s own desires and to undertake any initiative, emptiness becomes a component of the depressive experience.
Need to always be busy
The feeling of emptiness can also be perceived as the impression of “having to do something”, but without knowing how to end that need. This fact leads the individual to experience a feeling of frenzy and agitation without an immediate explanation, which determines the meaning of chronic dissatisfaction, another phenomenon often associated.
Lack of meaning of existence
The lack of meaning in existence can become a more generalized aspect, described on many occasions by poets, writers and philosophers such as Leopardi, Beckett, Schopenhauer. This aspect is presented as a loss of meaning regarding one’s ownso the person feels insignificant in the face of something incomprehensible.
Disturbing anticipation of death
Sometimes the sense of emptiness is experienced as a haunting anticipation of death in which the sense of self is lost, a characteristic expression of those who experience dissociative states. In particular, during , the individual may experience a terrifying mental void, a “black hole” from which they can only escape through powerful painful sensations, such as self-harm.
Negative emotions
The feeling of emptiness can cause other negative emotions that arise at the moment in which it is experienced, such as fear, sadness, anger, anguish, restlessness or terror. In this case, it is important to recognize that the triggering factor for these emotions is emptiness, since in this way the therapeutic intervention will be carried out differently.
Types of existential voids
What are the types of existential emptiness? There is talk of existential emptiness related to:
- Loneliness: feeling of isolation and a desperate desire for human contact.”
- Not feeling: the person has the feeling that something is missing, that he feels nothing and is nobody.
- Confusion: the individual questions everything he believed and this desire for certainty creates more worries and indecisions and locks him in his loneliness.
- Disappointment: the person feels that it is not worth fighting.
- To non-belonging: You no longer feel like you belong anywhere and you feel useless. Furthermore, the individual feels that he no longer has anything in common with the people he is close to,
- Sadness: the person regrets the past and feels deep sadness.
- Negligence: They feel unimportant and would like someone to take care of them for who they are, not for what they do.
- Shame: the person feels confused and guilty for who they are.
- Failure: The person has a terrible sense of inadequacy and all they do is try and fail.
- emotional death: the individual feels bored, with the feeling that he is getting old and wasting time.
- Paranoia: People with paranoia feel inhibited and have great pain inside.
Consequences of having an existential void
The feeling of emptiness has a strong clinical relevance, since it occurs more frequently suicidal gestures, self-harming acts and/or impulsive behaviors. In these cases, the need to do something emerges, such as having compulsive sex, bingeing on food, or using substances. These behaviors become means to try to get out of the state of emptiness.
Although they present similar symptoms, unlike depression, the sense of emptiness amplifies the need for anything and requires to be filled with other activities or people. For this reason, a person with existential emptiness begins to buy, drink or even love compulsively and cling to anything to feel immediate relief. These needs are different from the desires that anticipate the satisfaction that produces joy, since in this case they are automatisms necessary to leave a space where nothing makes sense. Therefore, the goal during an existential void is not to eat or have sex, but to feel a high physiological activation that can help get out of this state.
On the contrary, when intolerable emotions are experienced, the only way to manage them is to perform dysfunctional behaviors that can reduce emotional arousal and cause an absolute world.
How to overcome an existential void
How to get out of an existential void? Next, we leave you some tips to try to overcome the existential void:
- Know yourself: It is necessary to know yourself to know the path to follow in life. Do not be afraid of your desires.
- Set goals: Setting goals is the key to not feeling existential emptiness.
- Scientific studies show that people who pursue realistic goals enjoy greater mental well-being and are more motivated. This is also crucial to avoid depression.
- Accept reality: Many times, frustration and existential emptiness are also the result of unrealistic expectations and not accepting reality: when we accept ourselves as we are, the existential emptiness disappears.
- Live in the present: Accepting yourself has no meaning if you do not live the present in its entirety. It is positive to set objectives, but we must always take into account the place from which we start.
- Seek professional help: In some cases, the confusion is such that it is very difficult to look into the future. Therefore, it is necessary to have psychology professionals who can help people overcome the existential void and address the right direction towards a fulfilled life.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
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- Caccico, L. (2018). Senso di vuoto. Retrieved from: https://www.ipsico.it/news/senso-di-vuoto/
- Calvelli, E. (2022). Che cos’è il vuoto emotivo. Retrieved from: https://www.thewom.it/lifestyle/selfcare/vuoto-emotivo