How to Compensate for Feelings of Emptiness

Is it ok to feel empty feelings? Do we need to avoid feeling 'empty'? An answer to myself is 'No'. Feeling emptiness can be a symptom of many different influences. Fatigue, poor nutritional habits, and health concerns can contribute to feelings of emptiness. Are we resting and sleeping enough? Are we eating foods that are healthy enough for us? Do we have medical issues that should be addressed? Feelings of emptiness are a sign that something needs to be addressed in our lives. There are also circumstances which can influence our feelings. Are we under a lot of stress or have unresolved anxiety? Have we experienced recent significant losses? Are we disappointed or depressed concern our life circumstances? All of these influences can also contribute to feelings of emptiness.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
    
   Landscape

   Acknowledge our current feelings. Feelings of emptiness are painful. Feeling empty often translates into a lack of meaning or purpose to our lives. Feeling empty results in a lack of motivation or desire. As painful as these feelings are, acknowledging them is the first step to address them. Often it is good to be in the company of a trusted friend when we share such feelings but this is not required. We must be willing to cry when we acknowledge our unhappiness and emptiness. Keeping our feelings in continues to stress us and often makes us feel worse.

2. 
    
   Landscape

   After we acknowledge our feelings, we can attempt to describe our feelings. An exercise such as stating 'I feel empty because ...' may be helpful. We can write down all our feelings. Chances are we are experiencing several painful feelings when we feel empty. Again, it is good to share our results with a trusted friend but this is not a requirement.

3. 
    
   Landscape

   Continue to monitor feelings. Can we reduce the incidents we experience of feeling empty feelings? This can be accomplished as we continue to keep watch for those things which initiate them. A continual examination of what we feel can help us learn to identify uncomfortable feelings so that they can more quickly be addressed.

Tips & Warnings

• There may be no simple solutions to resolve our feelings of emptiness. Perhaps, professional counseling or the support of a group may be helpful.
• Learning to identify and feel our feelings will help us reduce our need for our defenses and increase our personal growth but we must be willing to respond to the impact of our feelings and the changes that result.
• Learning to nurture ourselves, to allow others to positively influence us, and to think meaningful, supportive thoughts can help us to increase our confidence and sense of self-worth.

[caspita]

on 11/24/2009 Compensate for Empty Feelings is an awesome article with so much insight. When it gets dark outside so early has an effect, too. Thanks so much!!

[toevlugsoord]

on 2/24/2009 This is a very wise article in that you aren't telling people they are bad for feeling empty! Great!

[voliegurl]

on 1/11/2009 The winter blahssssss, boooo! Thanks for the tips!

[tjhelms]

on 1/10/2009 great tips on dealing with these emotions. Thanks for sharing this one!!!!

[cherold598]

on 1/10/2009 Excellent article. A lot of great tips about dealing with feelings.