Withered rose with scattered petals on cracked groundWorthlessness tin can exist described as afeeling of desperation and hopelessness. Individuals who feel worthless may feel insignificant, useless, or believe they have nothing valuable to offer the earth. People diagnosed withdepression often study these feelings, and children who were neglected or abused may carry a sense of worthlessness into adulthood. When worthlessness leads one to feel thoughts of suicide or causes other immediate crunch, it may exist best to contact a crisis hotline or seek other help correct away.

  • Understanding Worthlessness
  • Psychological Issues Associated with Worthlessness
  • Therapy to Address Worthlessness
  • Instance Examples

Agreement Worthlessness

Worthlessness, a feeling that may crusade an individual to feel equally if they have no significance or purpose, tin have a significant negative effect on emotional health. A contempo study conducted by researchers at Seoul National University found that feelings of worthlessness were significantly associated with lifetime suicide attempt in adults who reported major low and had also experienced trauma. The study concluded that, among symptoms of depression, worthlessness had the strongest clan with lifetime suicide attempt.

Discover a Therapist

Circumstances such every bit job loss, divorce, or fiscal difficulties can quickly crusade someone to get overwhelmed, and those who experience one setback afterwards some other may be more likely to experience feelings of worthlessness and observe themselves questioning whether their lives take whatever meaning. People who experience worthlessness may notice it difficult to encounter any attribute of life as positive and may believe there is no prospect of improvement. This perception is mostly a distorted one and is oft likely to effect from underlying weather condition such equally low, anxiety, grief, or stress. The longer 1 experiences feelings of worthlessness, however, the more difficult it may be for them to overcome these feelings without help.

Feelings of worthlessness may develop into a prolonged state of negative mood, but they can also affect concrete wellness. A study evaluating the relationship between mortality and worthlessness in Chinese men 65 and older found worthlessness, out of all other symptoms of depression, was the only independent predictor of non-suicidal bloodshed in the approximately 2,000 individuals studied. Five years after the study, 18.two% of the men who had reported feelings of self-worthlessness, merely simply nine.ix% of the men who did not report feeling worthless, had died. This may be due to a variety of reasons, such every bit the likelihood that individuals experiencing feelings of worthlessness may exist less likely to seek preventative wellness intendance or engage in health-promoting behaviors and may be more than likely to smoke or appoint in other behaviors shown to negatively affect health. They may also be more likely tolack social support . The study'due south authors suggested worthlessness should be recognized as a risk factor in mortality, especially in Chinese men older than 65.

Psychological Bug Associated with Worthlessness

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, worthlessness is associated mainly withdepression, but these feelings might also announced as symptoms ofschizophrenia,feet, or on certain personality spectrums. Potent feelings of worthlessness in children may exist indicative of peer conflicts orfail orcorruption and should be taken seriously.The feeling of worthlessness may also be related to other feelings, including hopelessness, one thousanduilt, persistent sadness, or loss of motivation.

Worthlessness may present in unlike means. An private might experience:

  • Heavy, dull pain in the body
  • Negative thoughts well-nigh oneself
  • Tearfulness, despondency
  • Social anxiety
  • Loss of life purpose, diminished interest in life
  • Thoughts of suicide

An individual who feels worthless may:

  • Withdraw from relationships
  • Corruption alcohol or drugs
  • Have macerated emotional expression
  • Continually verbalize negative thoughts
  • Become lethargic
  • Fail self-care/activities of daily living, such as showering, eating, and washing one'due south wearing apparel

Therapy to Address Worthlessness

When 1's feelings of worthlessness go unaddressed, they may rapidly become overwhelming and interfere significantly with the power to function. It may be difficult to cope with these feelings without professional help, and when worthlessness occurs as a symptom of depression or any mental health condition, other than immediate crisis, therapy is oftentimes beneficial.

Cerebral behavioral therapy, a type of therapy that helps individuals adjust their thoughts in club to positively influence emotions and beliefs, has been shown to be effective for treating feelings of worthlessness. Treating the status that worthlessness occurs as a symptom of can also be a helpful method of treating feelings of worthlessness. When an individual experiencing low receives handling for depression, for instance, feelings of worthlessness are likely to abate.

Case Examples

  • Feeling unlovable and insignificant: Greta, 29, sees a therapist. She reports that she feels similar crying all the time and that one time she starts crying, she finds information technology difficult to stop. She feels insignificant, believing no one cares for her, and she tells the therapist she thinks she has no value as a person and no ane will ever love her. Antidepressants, prescribed by a previous therapist, have helped her a lilliputian, merely she says they crusade her to feel anxious and lose sleep. They also have sexual side effects, and Greta believes her final relationship ended as a consequence of these side effects, which led to an increment in her feelings of worthlessness. She says she has considered suicide briefly, but not seriously, and admits to the therapist that she drinks too much and as well often. After a few sessions, Greta reveals a sense offrustration with the path her life has taken anddeep feelings of anger toward her parents, whom she describes equally critical and distant. She tells the therapist that she chose her college and career in an attempt to win their approval, but her plan failed, leaving her unhappily employed at a job she does not relish. Therapy—and hard work in her personal life—helps Greta develop a sense of competence and increases her motivation to work toward what she truly desires for herself. This strengthens her sense of self, and she reports feeling hopeful for the future, which, she tells the therapist, she thought she would "never feel once more."
  • Experiencing worthlessness while questioning sexual orientation: Derek, 14, is brought to therapy by his parents, who report that he shows little emotion, has withdrawn socially, and is of a sudden performing poorly in school. His parents suspect drug use, telling the therapist that Derek'southward older sis showed the aforementioned signs when she was using drugs, but Derek strongly denies any drug use. The therapist meets alone with Derek and discovers he is questioning his sexual orientation and is agape to tell his parents, who, he states, will not "let" him be gay. He tells the therapist in that location must be something wrong with him, and he must have a "illness" that makes him "recollect about other boys." Through several sessions, the therapist works with Derek to address the negative behavior he holds, relaying facts nearly sexual orientation without trying to convince Derek of anything. He tells Derek many immature men have thoughts most other boys equally function of normal sexual evolution, whether or non they later identify as gay, bisexual, or queer. He also tells Derek enquiry has shown homosexuality is a normal sexual orientation, non a illness or an disease. After a few sessions, Derek reports an comeback in his depressed mood. He has been able to focus on his schoolwork and household responsibilities, and his parents are pleased with his progress. He tells the therapist he is not withal ready to tell them what caused his distress. Derek likewise expresses a wish to join a queer youth group, and the therapist helps him observe a grouping nearby. Derek continues to attend therapy sessions on occasion and reports that the youth group is extremely helpful.

References:

  1. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. (5th ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
  2. Mental Health; Investigators from Seoul National Academy Report New Data on Low (Feelings of worthlessness, traumatic experience, and their comorbidity in relation to lifetime suicide attempt in customs adults with major depressive disorder). (2014, August 11). Mental Health Weekly Digest, 44.
  3. Wong, S., Leung, J., & Woo, J. (2011). Chief content surface area The relationship betwixt worthlessness and mortality in a large cohort of Chinese elderly men. International Psychogeriatrics, 609-615. http://dx.doi.org/ten.1017/S1041610210000724