What to do when you’re feeling worthless
Feeling worthless is a classic sign of depression. While we all feel worthless sometimes, having a constant feeling of worthlessness can be an indication of a serious problem. Studies have shown that over 80 percent of people who suffer from depression do not like themselves. The reason for the dislike usually stems from a personal belief of the patient’s that he is deficient in some area of life that is important to him.
The most important thing to remember when you’re feeling worthless is that it’s all in your mind. Oftentimes something may happen that will cause you to start feeling worthless. However, a diagnosis of depression requires more than just a feeling of general worthlessness. It must be accompanied by a loss of interest in things you normally enjoy or a depressed mood.
Whether or not you’re actually clinically depressed may seem rather irrelevant if you’re really feeling worthless, and there are plenty of ways to help yourself recover, no matter how bad you feel. One of the first things you can start doing to keep yourself from feeling worthless is simply talk back to yourself. You are your own worst critic, and quieting those criticisms is your first step to stop feeling worthless. Allow others to give you compliments because you undoubtedly deserve them. Everyone is good at something.
Start retraining your thought processes by writing down every bad thought you think about yourself. This will take some work because you’ll have to learn to recognize those bad thoughts. Sometimes thinking bad thoughts becomes such a normal part of your day that you may not even realize that you’re criticizing yourself. You may find it helpful to ask someone close to you for help. You know who will want to help you. These are the people who normally get onto you for criticizing yourself constantly. They can help you recognize the bad things you say about yourself and even explain why the criticisms are not valid. Once you start recognizing every single criticism, then you can start talking back to them. The person you ask to help you may even help you with some things to say to that negative voice.
You may not recognize negative thoughts right away, but the more you practice by looking for them, the more you’ll realize that they are there. You’ll reach a peak in the number of negative thoughts you can identify after a couple of weeks, and they will start to drop off after that as you learn how to fight back against them.
Another way you can fight back against that feeling of worthlessness is by using any of a variety of coping mechanisms. We all have activities that help us feel better, whether it’s exercise, writing, or something else. Any activity that’s healthy can also be very therapeutic in times when we’re feeling worthless. Find something you enjoy doing and develop your skills at it. There’s nothing that can help us feel more personal worth than excelling at an activity that you love.