To ask you, what is the point of life?

[Stormwhale]

My question is not related to c19, and I can see that I may be depressed, but I can no longer see the point of living. I am not suicidal, noone needs to talk me off the ledge, but I just can't see the point anymore.

Everything I do, just seems so pointless. What is it that makes life worth living to you? Am I fundamentally missing something? I'm not sure if I need to make some huge changes in my life or if everyone feels like this.

I feel like every day I am just waiting for it to be over. I have children, and I think they are the closest I feel to feeling like life is worthwhile, but the rest. Nope.

@osbertthesyrianhamster Sorry to hear of your struggles. On a practical note, have you tried Melatonin? It works like a dream on my ASD boy.

When I was 18 I was sent a card with this Henry Miller quote on it:

The aim of life is to live, and to live is to be aware: joyous, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.

I’ve always loved it and think about it often. It removes the pressure to be happy. Living is the point.

It definitely sounds like you need to focus a bit more on yourself, your own needs and what brings you joy.

Also try and practise mindfulness, i.e. enjoying anything you can experience in the moment. That might be the feel of the warmth of the sun on your skin; the sound of the person outside laughing; the smell of lemons. Whatever it is that gives you pleasure, however small.

Are there any people in your life that you're really important to, other than your children? If so, remind yourself that you being here makes their life better. I know that my friends and family, make my life infinitely better, even though I don't tell them that (perhaps I should!). But even sometimes the person who smiled at me on the bus, or who helped me with something heavy, also made my life better in that moment. I'm sure you make a difference every day.

Im not sure there has to be a point. If there is i cant see it. Im on ADs and they tend to dull my ability to feel very much at all. They keep my anxiety at alevel which i can function.

Sorry, probably not helpful but that's my reality. I do however, love my family so maybe that's the point. Without them, id not be here.

I've always felt like this, I remember when I was about 10, I wrote a poem asking what was the point of being alive was and my classmate saying it was depressing.
In my 20s I lost 5 people who were very close to me in quick succession and my daily life changed overnight, this seemed to make me question this more.
Over the years, friends have sent me books on goals etc and I've tried to look into mindfulness but I never get that lust for life feeling.
I not suicidal but I feel like I'm in limbo.

We are here to learn so that our souls can evolve.whilst your life is difficult?at the moment and you don't see any light at the end of the tunnel,you are carrying on every day and day by day becoming stronger and in years to come you will look back and see this time in your life has taught you something about you.
When you feel down,if possible,get outside,even if it's into the garden to sit amongst nature and just 'be' .
Try meditation,try asking your guardian Angel for guidance.
🌈

For me formal meditation and mindfulness really wouldn't work (I'm high energy and find it frustrating).
What adds meaning to my life is watching my DC grow and be happy.
Having a job where I help others.
Watching the plants in my garden thrive.
Getting up early to listen to the dawn chorus with a decent cup of coffee.
Watching the seasons change.
Walking the dog.
Spending a day at the seaside or in the mountains.

Levels of treats!

Little daily treats, like a cake, a nice candle, a meet up with a friend, new wool to knit with.

Regular bigger treats, so that you have something to look forward to, like a festival weekend, a weekend away, a holiday.

Huge treat to aim for, for me this is aiming to buy a boat.

I used to be quite religious but increasingly find it very confining and judgemental. I have come to believe that you only get one chance at life so I'm not wasting time planning for the next one.

Its very easy to get stuck in a rut especially with lock down and I think this can then lead on to depression.

Yep feel the same ....

@KarmaStar

We are here to learn so that our souls can evolve.whilst your life is difficult?at the moment and you don't see any light at the end of the tunnel,you are carrying on every day and day by day becoming stronger and in years to come you will look back and see this time in your life has taught you something about you. When you feel down,if possible,get outside,even if it's into the garden to sit amongst nature and just 'be' . Try meditation,try asking your guardian Angel for guidance. 🌈

Honestly? Do you realise that for some people their life never improves and in fact gets worse? This is a variation on 'everything happens for a reason' (which is utter tosh) and that it will all be better one day and you'll look back fondly on when it was shit, what total codswallop. This idea that having shitty times in life or a shitty lesson in life is a lesson you needed to learn is errant stupidity and has an underlying presumption that that person deserved what they got to 'learn' or whatever other fabricated rubbish. As for guardian angels, gees. That's just . . . If you had one, isn't their job to guard you from shite? Yeah, that works.

[quote SevenAndMe]@osbertthesyrianhamster Sorry to hear of your struggles. On a practical note, have you tried Melatonin? It works like a dream on my ASD boy.[/quote]
Does nothing for him.

@zoemum2006

When I was 18 I was sent a card with this Henry Miller quote on it:

The aim of life is to live, and to live is to be aware: joyous, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.

I’ve always loved it and think about it often. It removes the pressure to be happy. Living is the point.

That is such a wonderful quote, I have made a note of it!

Gosh, I could have written the OP and I am nearing 70!
I have never been a depressive person but am currently going through a personally "shit" time that started mid 2019, there is no doubt the pandemic has just focussed everything and made things worse.
The little things that gave me joy have all been removed from my life, and all the time I keep thinking that I am getting older every day am I ever going to enjoy my life again?
The other night my oldest DS came around it was his 40th birthday , what should have been a reason to celebrate became a really depressing affair.
Many of my pals have been sheilding and even if we all get the second jab shortly will we all run the risk of coming up against a new variant that the vaccine doesn't cover?
I just miss having fun I could have dealt with all my problems if I had the opportunity of getting away for a bit.
How are we all supposed to cope with the grief of the losses that many of us have experienced?

For me love. Loving my husband and kids enjoying tiny with them

I've been feeling like this lately.

I really thought I'd have achieved something meaningful by middle age.

I feel like I grew up having it indoctrinated into me that the purpose of life was a successful career.

Trying to change my thinking around that is so hard.

I find it hard to find pleasure in much at all.

I'm realising now the DCs are growing that I'll have decades of living without them at home and can't imagine how I'll be motivated when there aren't little people to be responsible for. I don't have enough self care skills to do things 'for me'. I think I'll become a strange hermit.

Once I've got enough ££ to eat and heat what point will there be in getting dressed/leaving the house?

Thank you for this thread. I have felt like this for a really long time and it's an awful place to be. We spend our time doing boring shit that has to be done and working in jobs we hate for 40/50 years living for the evenings and weekends and our annual leave. I'm late 20s and like someone said up thread, it fills me with sheer horror that I may be here for another 70 years.

I actually had a conversation with someone about this recently and they understood what I was saying which was comforting. Other times I've discussed this and people gave me a strange look, so I really appreciate this thread.

Ultimately there is no point. We are all tiny dots on the world and nothing we do really matters. I do my very best to fill my days with nice things - dog walks in lovely places, nice food, wine, but it doesn't take away from the fact that the majority of the time I feel utterly disillusioned and miserable.

I think it comes down to love. It’s the only real thing in life, as far as I can see. It’s the only source of strength and motivation.