Why don’t I feel alive?

In this article, it will be discussed what can cause a person to not feel alive, since it can be related to the way a person is living their life, or sometimes it is a sign that the 

a person is going through a mental illness and might need treatment.

It will discuss what can be done in both situations, be it by thinking of changes that can be done in your life or treatments that one can look for to help them navigate through mental illness.

Why don’t I feel alive?

When my way of life makes me not feel alive

Many reasons can cause a person to not feel alive. Nowadays people tend to be so caught up in their busy schedule and all the things they have to do that it can be easy to lose touch with yourself and the things you love.

Once a person is living this way, it can be easy to, little by little, lose track of who you are and your humanity. These agitated times make us act like machines, so it is always important to take a moment to assess your life and understand what is your purpose in doing what you are doing.

Taking this time can happen during a holiday, or it can be something that hits you one day during office hours. This is a thought one should listen to, try to analyze your life, what brings you joy and what are things that might be hard for you at the moment, it can be your job or a relationship.

Surely knowing what is making your life harder won’t be an out-of jail-free card for you to give things up. But it can help you consider what other meanings can come from that job or relationship, or if they are things you need to start considering how to get out of.

Aside from that, it can help you think not only of things you want out of your life but things you want to bring to it. In thinking of that, it might be great to put yourself in the challenge of doing one thing you love every day.

Doing that can put you in touch with your feelings, show that you have a body and a beating heart that responds to you. That can also be felt when you challenge yourself, learning new things, like a new language or a hobby can make you feel more alive.

When opening yourself up to new things, it might be that fear shows its face, but remember to breathe and try to remember what a great sense of accomplishment can come from doing something new or opening yourself up for an adventure.

When my mental health caused me to not feel alive

Sometimes a person might not feel alive because they are going through a mental illness. Maybe they are feeling depressed, which can cause life to lose its purpose, a person might feel empty, apathetic, and like all their possibilities are gone. 

Another condition that can cause a person to not feel alive is depersonalization. That, in itself, is not a mental illness, but it is a symptom that can be present in many conditions, like anxiety. When a person has it, they might feel like a robot, as if they are not in control of their actions and words.

When that is the case, and the thought of not feeling alive keeps crossing your mind, it might be important to breathe and try to relax. You can find yourself a calm place to meditate in, and as you breathe in and out, you can get in touch with yourself and the worlds surrounding you. 

Another thing that might help you feel alive is doing things you love. It can be listening to music that makes you feel good or going for a hike. But it is important to be in touch with things that can positively impact your emotions, and by that, make you feel alive.

Try to push yourself on doing things that might bring you joy. Although thinking of feeling joy might seem like an impossible thing when one is going through depression, it is extremely important to find ways to get a little relief from this feeling of not being alive.

It can be simple things, like being among people you love, but that, for example, can make you feel more connected and part of something. And finally, like said before, trying something new might be a way to open yourself up to new possibilities. What can be great when one is facing the lack of possibilities that depression can bring.

It might be that once you open yourself to new things, your mind might start playing tricks on you, making you feel scared or afraid of opening yourself up to new things. But don’t let fear control you and allow yourself to try.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Why don’t I feel so alive?

Is it normal to not feel alive sometimes?

Yes, it is perfectly normal to not feel alive sometimes.  The important thing is to be aware of how often this happens to you, and how intense this feeling gets. If it’s a fleeting sensation, but as soon as you do something you love, or even listen to a song you like, you go back to feeling alive, it is completely normal.

The problem maybe if you start feeling that often, and if that is the situation, it is important to try to think why this might be happening. Of course, no one is happy all the time, and although it seems hard, being aware of that can be of some comfort. 

It can let us know that we need to embrace our negative feelings, but one shouldn’t adjust to feeling like they are not alive. They should look for professional help if they think this might be related to a mental illness, or think about what can be done to make their lives better.

Do I need a relationship to feel alive?

No, it shouldn’t take a relationship for one to feel alive. It shouldn’t take one specific thing to make you feel alive. Feeling alive is related to your connection to your purposes and passions. And that is what one should aspire to have.

Discover what moves you, and drives you forward, what gives you goosebumps, and what makes you smile. Exploring life and its possibilities, what could cause you to feel alive in your teenage years, is not the same as what will make you feel alive when you are in your thirties, that is why it is so important to keep yourself open to new experiences.

Don’t answer to other people’s expectations on what would make you feel alive, it might not be a relationship, having kids, or that high-paying job. Keep in touch with yourself and understand what it means to feel alive to you. 

Is it a problem if I only feel alive when I’m with other people?

It is not necessarily a problem to feel alive when you are with people, but it might be something to pay attention to. After all, how is it possible to always be around people? And how can you deal with yourself when other people are not around?

Those are questions to consider because once you put all your feelings on others, you give others the ability to control how you feel. So if people are close, you feel good, if not, you feel bad. That’s a complicated road to take.

It might be good to explore activities and interests that you can develop by yourself, it may start just as a way to be more in touch with yourself, but it is also a way of creating things in your life that others won’t be able to take away. It is also a way of putting yourself in a challenging situation and realizing how empowered you are.

By doing that, it is not a suggestion for you to avoid being with people, it is more of a thought of opening a new door, other possibilities, so you can feel alive when you are around people you love, but you can also be alive when you are by yourself.

Should danger make me feel alive?

Some people say they feel the most alive when they are going through a dangerous situation, it can be related to sex, or other risky behaviors, such as abuse of alcohol or drugs. They can even be called adrenaline junkies.

 But it is important to consider if you are putting yourself at real risk when trying to go through these dangerous situations to feel alive.No one should risk their own life for that. If that is the case, it might be important to think about what is going on. 

What is the dangerous situation that makes you feel alive, and if that can be replicated in situations of less risk, if that’s the case, one can consider changing activities to make themselves alive.

If not, maybe going through therapy can help you understand why you need to put yourself in a real danger situation to feel alive, and how to create new ways to be in touch with yourself and feel alive through other forms. 

If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.

What can I do if I have everything and still don’t feel alive?

It can happen, at times, that a person feels like they accomplished everything they ever wanted, but still don’t feel alive. If that is the situation you are going through, it might be important to think if all you’ve got still makes sense to you.

Sometimes people spend a lot of time and energy in the search for things and when they get it, they might have changed and not want the same things anymore, and that is okay. People change, they discover new passions and interests, you should embrace them and try to retrace your steps based on your new desires.

But if the case is that this is a pattern, and every time you get to things you wanted, you don’t want it anymore. It might mean that what makes you feel alive is the pursuit of things, but getting them.

If that is the case, try to embrace the things you have, and find ways to keep challenging yourself, it can be through a workout, for example, that you can keep developing more and more.

Conclusion

In this article, it was discussed what can cause a person to not feel alive. How it can be related to the way a person’s been living their life or how it can be a sign they might be going through a mental illness. 

The article showed what can be done in both cases to reconnect with yourself and maybe find a new purpose and way to live life.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to write it in the section below.

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