I Feel Like Everything Doesn’t Matter To Me: Possible Causes And What To Do
When a person doesn’t care about everything, they tend to see life go by without being able to enjoy it, living with apathy, anhedonia, reluctance or apathy. It’s as if everything is unimportant and you don’t find anything in life that is exciting. This widespread disinterest requires urgent attention; especially, if it is maintained over time.
Some of the possible causes why I feel like everything doesn’t matter to me could be the following: depression or some other mood disorder, emotional suffering, life crises, existential emptiness or excessive materialism, among others.
In this article We will see each of those possible causes why a person could feel that everything does not matter to them and we will also present some advice in this type of situation.
Why do I feel like everything doesn’t matter to me?
Feeling that everything doesn’t matter to us can occur at any time throughout life and in various situations, with a wide variety of causes, as we will see later. Those who experience a similar “emptiness” can express it in different ways, since there is no single reason and each person experiences it in a different way.
Thus, It is important that the person who experiences it does some introspection work that allows you to find the root of your feeling of indifference towards what surrounds you.
Next, we are going to explain some of the most common causes why a person can feel that everything does not matter to them.
1. Depression or mood problems
One of the main reasons why someone may feel that everything doesn’t matter to them is the fact that they are suffering from an episode of depression or any mood disorder (e.g., bipolar disorder), since some of the most common symptoms of depression are:
In the case of dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder), we find a form of depression that lasts over time (2 years or more), in which the person usually loses interest in certain activities of daily life that were previously pleasant. and pleasant, experience low self-esteem and to have a general feeling of inadequacy, so that you could also feel hopeless and, subjectively, you could have the feeling that everything doesn’t matter to you.
Another thing that makes a person feel like they don’t care about everything It can arise from having suffered a very painful or even traumatic situation that causes the person severe discomfort, followed by feelings of apathy (e.g., the death of a loved one, the breakup of a relationship, or having lost their job and having difficulty finding a new one, among others) , so that the person may go through a grieving process and, in some cases, it is likely that they will need time to assimilate the loss and to reorient their life again.
In this type of case it is important that the person relies on those close to them and listens to their emotions since if you try to repress them to appear strong and “normal,” it is likely that they will end up taking their toll and will end up emerging in a more harmful way than if you let them flow as you feel them.
4. Life crisis
There are some vital crises that we can experience throughout our lives due to certain psychological, physical, social changes family and/or work-related, among others of a different nature, that challenges people’s own capacity to adapt and that may be incidental or transitional (typical of the natural life cycle that all people experience), potentially triggering a process of grief, being a critical moment for the person to adapt to the new reality or, otherwise, it could lead to a worsening of the situation.
Faced with this type of crisis, it is possible that the person feels discouraged and perceives that everything does not matter to them; However, even if things are not going as expected, perhaps it is a good time to listen to yourself and reorient your life or certain areas of your life in another direction, being a great moment of learning, self-knowledge and personal growth. .
5. Existential void
All people, or at least the majority, have at some point asked themselves existential questions related to the meaning of life, regarding death, if there is something beyond or regarding the causes of everything that inhabits and can be found in the universe. Sometimes, all this can cause an existential void in some people that could cause them to have the feeling that nothing matters and that their life is in the hands of chance.
In the society in which we live today it is quite easy to fall into excess materialism, so that those who fall into it cannot be “satisfied” despite having all their needs covered and even if they have more than what is necessary. In this type of cases, the person could feel an emptiness on an emotional level that cannot be filled with the acquisition of new material goods, since the abundance of comforts in this society does not serve to achieve all types of deficiencies, such as emotional or other types of deficiencies.
Faced with this type of void, people could experience feelings of apathy and that everything doesn’t matter, because material abundance can cause people to not value what they have or other aspects of their life that should matter more than the fact that they try to have more and more things.
What can I do if I feel like everything doesn’t matter to me?
Now that we have explained the reasons why a person could feel that everything doesn’t matter to them, we are going to give some guidelines that can help you deal with this type of situation, dealing with the discomfort and trying to solve the possible causes. .
1. Listen to your own emotions
One of the tips we should start with when we find ourselves facing a situation similar to the ones we just mentioned is listening to our emotions, since this It will allow us to find the possible reasons for our discomfort so that we can discover what is causing us harm and, based on this, we could begin to look for solutions.
At the same time, listening to emotions will help us begin to manage them correctly so that they do not cause us greater discomfort than they should, given that when they are not heard, we will hardly be able to know what we really want and what we don’t. On the other hand, it is important to see that the emotions that we consider negative (e.g., sadness, anguish or anger) play an important function in people’s adaptation to certain circumstances; However, when they are not listened to or managed correctly, they can become maladaptive.
Related article: “Self-knowledge: definition and 8 tips to improve it”
2. Lean on trusted people
Another piece of advice that can help is that when a person finds themselves in a situation similar to those we saw previously, do not mask their discomfort and try to rely on trusted people, such as their partner, a family member or friend, with in order to receive support from those close to them, since Trying to silence our feelings is not going to allow us to move forward, but just the opposite.
It is essential to have some support points such as a trusted person, a place where we feel at home or a hobby that we like and allows us to let off steam while we practice it, since these types of support points They will allow us to draw strength and encouragement in difficult moments.
3. Find what fulfills us most in life and try to direct our lives towards it
Searching for a purpose in life and, above all, staying active, is one of the most recommended options when a person feels apathetic, so everything doesn’t matter, since behavioral activation has proven to be effective in combating depressive symptoms such as apathy.
Therefore, we must start by looking for things that we like (e.g., meeting friends, playing sports, going for a walk, etc.) and start doing them routinely. It can also be a good option rescue old hobbies from the past that had been left behind (e.g., if you used to hike before and have stopped doing them for years, it might be the perfect time to get back into it.)
Another highly recommended option could be to start a project that we are passionate about and keeps us with a purpose in life (for example, whenever we wanted to help others, so perhaps I could start by volunteering for an association or trying to get a job that allows me to carry out social work that helps other people). First of all, this must be carried out progressively so as not to feel overwhelmed by so many challenges.
4. Seek professional help
In these types of situations, look for the help of a psychologist Perhaps it is one of the most successful options, since if that feeling that everything doesn’t matter to us persists for a long time, it may be a sign of suffering from depression or some other mental health problem, which is why therapy It can help us face these types of situations in a more adaptive way and thus prevent these types of feelings that cause us discomfort to a greater or lesser extent before they could worsen.
Likewise, going to therapy can serve to strengthen self-esteem and develop a series of tools that could help us in future difficult situations. The psychologist can also help us discover the causes of our discomfort, even those that may be underlying it.
