Languishing: what to do if you’re feeling apathetic

IF YOU’VE been feeling restless, apathetic or even emotionally empty since the pandemic began, you may be “languishing”, described as an emotional state of limbo, aimlessness and low mood, which can last for a long time.

While languishing is not itself considered a mental health disorder, it could ultimately lead to anxiety or depression. Many people may even have experienced – or may still be experiencing – languishing without really even knowing what it is or why they’re feeling that way.

In fact, an international study which looked at data from participants in 78 different countries between April and June 2020 found that 10% of people experienced languishing during the pandemic.

The causes of languishing are different for every person – but they may result from many factors, such as stress, trauma or even a change in routine. But the good news is that languishing does not last forever, and there are many things you can do to improve your mental state.

Languishing can be a precursor for depression or exist alongside depression. But while the two may share some similarities, they also differ in many ways – mainly in how the symptoms present themselves.

Depression can be characterised by emotional, mental, behavioural and physiological symptoms – including fatigue, sleeping too much or too little, weight loss or gain, negative thoughts, negative feelings or suicidal thoughts. Languishing, shares some of the symptoms with depression, such as having negative emotions. But it’s also characterised by not feeling in control of your life, feeling like you are not able to grow or change and not engaging with your community.

Though languishing is not considered a mental health disorder, it can still be challenging to bear – and may even be more difficult than experiencing depression for some. Research that compared the experiences of people with mental health disorders with those experiencing languishing found languishers were more likely not to know what they wanted out of life, found setting goals for the near future unhelpful or did not take action when faced with adversity.

These contrasting experiences give us some insight into why languishing can be such a challenging state to experience.

Being diagnosed with a mental health condition means people may better know how to tackle their situation and make improvements, or may at least be able to access services and treatments (such as therapy) that can help them.

But as languishing is not considered a mental health disorder, people may not know why they feel the way they do, and they may not be able to get the help they need from their GP or other mental health services. To understand how to reduce languishing, it’s important to understand the difference between languishers and flourishers (people with high levels of mental health).

We know from previous research that flourishers are seven times less likely to experience depression than people with lower levels of wellbeing. |