Feelings of Worthlessness – The Spiral Downward

Sometimes, I wake up feeling worthless. Feeling like there is nothing I have done right in the world. I am a terrible sister, friend, wife, colleague. I am not certain I even want to try. I feel like when I have tried in the past, I have failed miserably – so why try again? It just seems like it ends up being a waste of time. It is also a waste of effort. I only have this amount of time in the world and I stretch myself to the very ends of the earth to do what I can for others and still it does not make me feel fulfilled. I am exhausted. I am defeated. I am worn and emotionally ragged. Why am I not enough? Why do people not see that I am trying? Why do you people not recognize all of what I have done? The only answer is that it is because what I do is not enough. Or maybe I am too incompetent to fully provide what they seek from me. I should quit my job. I suck at it anyway. I have not received a promotion in years. People who have started here years after I started have received promotions. Others have left. Am I just being too tolerant? Or maybe again, this is what I deserve. This is all I deserve. The worst-case scenario. Is it all that I deserve?

The ADAA reports, “Affects approximately 1.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. (about 3.3 million American adults). Only 61.7% of adults with MDD are receiving treatment. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year.” How many from this number receive treatment for anxiety? Under 40%! It is no wonder that these feelings continue to exist. Feelings of worthlessness can lead to depressive disorders and anxiety disorders. In many cases, both. There are other mental health issues that stems from feeling unworthy. There is abuse, neglect, gender identity issues along with other anxiety and depressive disorders that come about from unresolved feelings of unworthiness. Many people that go untreated and depending on severity leads to suicide and other self-harm behaviors like skin picking, scratching, fisting/hitting self to induce harm and cutting behaviors to name a few.

When battling feelings of worthless, a downward spiral begins. It can stem from an error made on a paper, or perhaps stuttering during a presentation at work. It can stem from pouring time into children, for them to run off to school leaving plenty of time to be in your own thoughts. Thus, the negative thinking commences, and it snowballs until it can be difficult to stop. How do you stop this spiral? How do you resolve these feelings? It is always easier to speak about than to put the words into action. There are specific steps that are necessary in other to manage feelings of worthlessness. Some methods are tried and true like developing coping skills and talking to a friend about it. But sometimes you need a bit more than that.

Learn how you too can be free of these negative feelings. If you or a friend needs mental health counseling or life coaching to combat feelings of worthlessness, schedule an appointment so you can find value in YOU! Hope to talk with you soon. @LWCOUNSELS via Twitter & Instagram