7 Tiny Signs You Actually Stopped Enjoying Your Life A Long Time Ago
PolinaBright | Shutterstock You can stop enjoying your life without even realizing it's happening.
It can happen to all of us. We’re OK, but then our lives slowly start to change, and before we know it, we realize that we’ve stopped caring. Therapy or another form of support may help, especially if the feeling sticks around or starts interfering with your life. Here are some signs that you stopped enjoying your life a long time ago.
Here are 7 tiny signs you actually stopped enjoying your life a long time ago:
1. Little things don't make you happy anymore
Getting up in the morning, making a cup of coffee, and reading the morning paper may have been your favorite time of the day. Or maybe you went for a walk after work every night. Or you loved to try a new recipe. Whatever the simple pleasure may be, if you are struggling, you probably don’t enjoy these anymore. They may feel like chores to you, and you opt out of doing them.
The National Institute of Mental Health explains that losing interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities can be a sign of depression. "Depression symptoms interfere with day-to-day functioning and cause significant distress for the person experiencing them," says NIH.
2. You avoid talking to people
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Even the most extroverted people need a little alone time here and there. However, if you notice you are canceling on people more frequently than usual, it may be a sign of something deeper. NIH also notes that a sign of depression is a lack of social activity. At the moment, it feels so easy to cancel, but when that becomes routine, you just end up being lonelier than you were to begin with.
NIH says that one way to start feeling like yourself again is to get 30 minutes of physical exercise a day. This does not need to be a HIIT workout, but just a walk around the block. Those 30 minutes can do wonders for your mental health.
3. You plan everything instead of enjoying it
This one may be overlooked, but if you feel like you are never relaxed and always planning, it may be a sign of something deeper. For example, you’re supposed to be going on a weekend getaway, but you keep getting lost in the logistics when you don’t want to be. This may be a sign that your nervous system is stuck on high alert.
Your brain may have learned that it can never be relaxed and must always be in control. Maybe this has come from years of taking care of others, or maybe it’s a sign that you’ve recently felt like you have lost control. Constantly planning and struggling to relax can sometimes be connected to anxiety, but those habits alone don't indicate an anxiety disorder.
4. You scroll more than you'd like
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Ah, the classic doomscrolling. Although this happens involuntarily to the best of us, sometimes it may be a sign of something deeper going on. For example, it may be a sign of procrastination. It also gives us a false sense of control.
We believe we control what sort of content we consume, which gives us a sense of control that we may or may not feel in our personal lives. We may also use doomscrolling as a means of therapy. When you're sad, you may scroll through cat TikToks for hours to distract yourself from what you're feeling.
5. You can't name anything that gives you purpose
We all need a reason to keep us going. Whether it be a person, a job, or a hobby, there has to be something that gets us out of bed in the morning. Without something to look forward to, it can become harder to feel motivated or connected to your life.
Your purpose doesn’t have to be trying to save the world, but it can be as small as you like to paint. Robert Evans Wilson Jr. explains that if you don’t know your purpose, "follow your joy. When you feel joy, it is such a powerful emotion that it speaks the truth from the depths of your subconscious. Think of the things that have brought you joy in the past. Next, make a list of those times and look for a pattern."
6. You don't know how you really feel
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We hear this question every day. Whether it’s from a friend or the cashier at the grocery store, we are always asked, "How are you?" We’re trained to respond with "Good, how are you?"
People who have lost joy in their lives, however, may be compelled to respond a little more deeply. They think before replying automatically with "good." Can they trust this person? Maybe they want to rant a little bit. But maybe they just want to disguise their emotions. If you regularly struggle to describe how you feel, it may be a sign that you've become disconnected from yourself and the things you enjoy.
7. You don't know what to do with your free time
Once again, this goes back to finding that purpose in life. Many people who have lost their spark feel completely burnt out. Their time and energy are spread thin between all their responsibilities, and it feels like no time is in sight.
When they finally do have a moment to themselves, they don’t know what to do. They can’t remember any of their hobbies, and their brain is constantly thinking about what needs to be done next. If you feel like you can’t relax, maybe you need to think about the things that used to bring you joy and reconnect with them as much as possible.
Sophie Bagheri is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and theatre who covers lifestyle topics.
