What is the meaning to life? Is everything just pointless?

Hi there,

No your not alone, I understand where your coming from.

Has anything specific happened to drive these feelings?

Have you thought about councelling? Im on my second session and im finding it really useful. X

Hello Kaykay,

Thank you for taking time to read my post.

I cant remember anything specifically happening in my life to trigger these feelings they just sort of developed from nowhere and have worsened over time. I have been unemployed for half a year and my last job was only part time and lasted apporoximately 4 months before I decided it wasnt for me.

I really want to get a job and be successful but these feelings hold me back, I feel like I am not good enough or capable or smart enough for a real job. I would love to be more independent and earn my own momey but I am stuck in such a dark deep place I just cant even imagine finding a job or starting work. I have no social life which I dont feel sad about because I dont enjoy drinking alcohol (that seems to be what anyone I know wants to do) I am currently in college but the course I am doing is very basic (it gets me out of the house though I suppose).

I have not had any therapy and my doctor did suggest I make an appointment for councelling (which I have not yet done) I dont know why, but just the thought of councelling scares me, sitting and talking with someone scares me a lot, I actually dont think I could do it and I know that if I make an appointment I will have sleepless nights leading up to the appointment and panicking over it (Stupid I know). I have actually walked out of the doctors waiting room before and stood outside the building and called the receptionist from my mobile phone to tell her that I was feeling unwell and had to leave because I was rehearsing in my head what I should say to the doctor and it all got too much for me.

I really dont know why I feel like this, I used to be more outgoing and not anxious. I couldnt even enjoy a drink at Christmas with my own mum because of this anxious feeling and low mood.

Ruby

Can I also add, I decided the job was not for me as it was caring for a disabled person overnight and I was suffering from depression at the time and I was not in a fit state of mind to carry on with this type of work.

Ruby

I posted recently called what should i do for the best, perhaps have a read and maybe it wont make you feel so alone?

The help is out there if you want it, maybe going to the gp and asking for some We need your would help?

I suffered over christmas period too and the things i used to enjoy became dull and made me feel worthless.

Your not alone

Kate. X

Thank you Kate,

I will have a look at your post now.

Hopefully we will get through this and life will be brighter.

Ruby x

Hi Ruby

Yes I know how it feels to think everything in life is pointless. Depression makes you lose interest in everything that you once enjoyed. This can be anything from going out with your friends, eating foods that you enjoy eating, doing hobbies that you used to enjoy or anything that would usually bring you enjoyment.

It can make you want to mope about at home or stay in bed all day. When I first saw my doctor about depression he asked me when was the last time I felt happy, and I couldn't think of anything, depression makes it difficult to be positive about anything, which is why you have all these questions about what's the point of all these things in life.

I am progressing in recovery with medication, I hope you start to feel better soon. I only joined this site recently too and it helps to talk to others going through the same thing. It is good to find someone that you can share you concerns with, I'm happy to help if I can .

Hi Ruby,

I often feel the same way as you. I have been out of work for 7 months now (6 months because I was off sick with depression and the last month unemployed because of the pressure they were placing me under to go back). I often wonder why I even bother to get out of bed and what the point is to life. Why do people just go to work, come home, go to bed and do it all over again. Where is the pleasure in anything. I sit in the house all day every day on my own with nothing to do and even when the weather is nice and I could go for a walk or see my mum or a friend, I often don't have the motivation to do it, however I still stay home and say how bored I am and wish I could go out and live a normal life. I've found it's amazing how much a job can give you a sense of purpose. But I feel the same as you and don't have the confidence and don't feel like i'm capable of doing anything, even the simplest of tasks.

I wish I could offer you advice to help you but the only thing I can recommend is try counselling as I have found it very useful in the past, and also try and stick with the college course as it will give you something to get up for and give you a sense of achievement

Hi Becca,

Im so sorry to hear that you are in the same situation as I am it is really not a nice place to be. I suppose the fact that we have acknowledged there is something not right and are getting help (even just by discussing it on these forums) shows that we are able to take control of our lives.

You are very right about how a job can give someone a purpose in life and a reason to get out of bed in the morning, I just find it so difficult to see any point in it all and when I try to picture myself in a job I feel that I will struggle and fail.

I managed to go for a walk today to my local park with my mum but as soon as I came home I spent the rest of the day upstairs basically doing nothing... I have work to do for college but I just cant bring myself to do it. I put everything off until the very last minute!

I just feel so lazy and useless, I look around me and people I know seem to have their lives planned and are moving forward and I am just stuck, waiting for something to happen? I suppose.

Do you have any hobbies or things you still enjoy doing?

What have you lost interest in? And how old are you? (If you dont mind me asking)

I am 24.

Thank you for posting a comment, its really good being able to talk to others in the same boat.

Ruby

X

i genuinely wish to help you, and i hope what i say will not sound outlandish or strange, i say it because i so strongly believe in it that it surpasses my fear of online scrutiny from others.

i read through many forums on depression, and i enjoy seeing the changes people while i try to help as much as possible. let me give it to you in straightforward terms.

Humans have been roaming the earth for thousands of millennia, roughly 6 thousand thousand years since divergence from primate-like ancient ancestors. for the duration of that enormous amount of time, humans became extremely adept at survival. one of the main modes of transportation and survival that we used to obtain food and achieve safety was through long distance travel. we did not have claws nor powerful jaws, nor were we quick. but we were able to lope about at a brisk pace for prolonged periods of time. we have such a vast amount of adaptations reflecting this theory that it would be rather foolish to not accept it. we sweat, lost our body hair (to more efficiently cool ourselves through sweating), move about bi-pedally, and so much more, so that we could efficiently and effectively hunt four legged animals that after several hours of galloping, could not cool down, and would overheat and die. we had no tools nor weapons, only our hands and teeth, and not until around 1.8 MYA were even the first stone tools aka rocks, used to kill anything, the bow was not invented until 40,000 years ago. humans ran, and they ran, and they ran, and they ran some more.

Fast forward to modern day, where we sit in offices all day and at most get a few hours of exercise a week, can you see where im heading with this? the clear picture is this: humans are good at some things, and designed for them, and when you depart from that which we have evolved to do for millions of years, you get problems. there are so many details and things you may not understand from what i present, but understand this: You need to exercise, and by exercise, i mean run. and you need to run correctly, the way our human ancestors did it, with little to no shoes whatsoever. if you do this, i can guarantee you that your depression will go away. your brain releases a marvelous concoction of chemicals that are an adaptive trait humans evolved to help them cope with the long and painful bouts of exercise. you may have heard of them, they are called endorphins. they are chemically identical with opiates, IE: heroin, morphine, euphoria-inducing drugs. the drugs mentioned above are found in nature from the poppy plant, but are naturally produced in your brain to alleive depression, pain, hunger, anxiety, sadness, and have such a profound impact on the psyche that you may wonder why you've never tried this before! the "runners high", is what you get, the bath of well-being inducing chemicals that bathe your brain every time you exercise for prolonged periods of time(an hour or so at least). people who run regularly and eat normal food (food that humans were eating for the last several million years) are much happier and healthier and upbeat and NEVER, NEVER have i met a person who runs long distance regularly and adheres to this lifestyle who has depression. it just doesnt happen, because they stick to what they are designed to do. you dont buy a car and let it sit in your garage so that you can play with its lights, or open its doors, or inflate and deflate its tires, you buy it so that you can drive it.

i want you to go and buy a pair of minimalist shoes, that allow your foot to function the way its evolved to function, not thick heeled shoes that cause injuries. your feet are not born weak or broken, they are an evolutionary marvel that da vinci himself wondered at in awe. large shoe companies make lots of money on the false idea that your foot is broken and you need man made devices that have been invented barely 30 years ago for them to work correctly.

i want you to go out and jog an easy mile. then wait a few days. when youre not sore, go jog another, then after a week go jog a mile and a half. EASE INTO IT! your feet are weak and soft from wearing shoes your whole life.it will take several months. before long, you will be running like homo erectus, and loving life.

do it for yourself, do it for your life.

-will

Hi Ruby,

I sent you a private message in response to your post above

Becca

Hello,

I read it your problem than i think you spend your all time in inside the home.I suggest you do some job,creative work and engage yourself with some activities .You do regularly in your routine 30 min yoga is must for you and also you do jogging ,aerobic and some exercise. you listen soft music and You can take consulling.I hope it will help you . if you think positive than you feel life is the most beautiful thing of the world so don't think negative. Be Positive.

Take care

Dr. Girivar

Dear Ruby,

I bumped into this forum when I searched for "I feel like life is pointless". I read your entire note and I can relate to it. You mentioned that there has been nothing in your life that has triggered this feeling. Actually I am quite sure it is the contraceptive. (Try not taking it for a month and see the difference).

I went through the same feelings, anxiety, shortness of breath, restlessness, panic, later this lead to feelings of depression after a month (I am still working on being positive and coming out of it). I had taken Novelon just for a month and I underwent these mad feelings. I thought I was going crazy and losing my mind.

When I first felt anxiety I saw a doctor. The doc asked me to check for thyroid and the test was negative, I insisted it's the mind and saw a psychiatrist he was wondering too, that I sound perfectly sane but was feeling unlike myself all of a sudden, he prescribed something for anxiety. I was scared I will be dependenton those pills forever. while leaving the shrink, he asked me if I was getting my periods regularly, that's when I mentioned it got delayed by about 8 days and hence I am on OCP to correct it. He was surprised and said that my symptoms were not so common side effect of OCPs, but if a doctor has prescribed them to you, you can continue.

Believe me that shrink was god sent! The first thing I did when I got home was search for posts of women facing these issues online and that opened my eyes and life felt better suddenly. You would be surprised to see how many women feel anxiety and depression on taking OCPs-I am talking about women facing full blown panic attacks. I cursed that drug and trashed it and swore never to take it again, and let everybody I know about my experience. I didnt feel anxious after about 2 days, but anxiety begets anxiety so it should take sometime to completely come out of it.

Please try staying of the pill and (use other forms of contraceptives instead, not oral) see the difference. Stay positive. Do your regular chores. Talk to positive people. exercise, most importantly eat well (eat sources of Vit B6, B12, folic acid). Eat well because you need serotonin read -(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_oral_contraceptive_pill). The section on depression says that "Low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain, have been linked to depression. High levels of estrogen, as in first-generation COCPs, and progestin, as in some progestin-only contraceptives, have been shown to promote the lowering of brain serotonin levels by increasing the concentration of a brain enzyme that reduces serotonin. This observation, along with some small research studies[60] have inspired speculation that the pill causes depression."

Hoping to hear from you if it changed anything. I still have my bouts of feeling low, but I am in a place where I feel I can come out of it completely. I hope you feel better soon.

Take care..

I sent you a private message in response to your post above, please read

Hey Rubysparks....I hear what you're saying!  I totally agree with the chap who said about exercise.  It does release endorphines and will give you that feel good factor!

Secondly, you need a purpose.  You need a reason to be get out of bed in the morning, something that makes you feel alive.  I'm reading a great book at the moment called cure for the common life by max lucado.  It has a very religious stance to it, but if you're not into that sort of thing, read it anyway!!!!!  It talks a lot about finding out what your passions are and how to use them to be fulfilled.

Let me know how you get on!