You might be surprised to learn that feeling worthless is a common hallmark symptom of depression.[1] It’s coupled with feeling hopelessness and uselessness. These feelings may develop as a result of bad experiences in the past or arise with no tangible cause at all.

The causes of these erosive emotions can be hard to nail down. In fact, in depression and other mood disorders, they don’t have to have a cause at all. People may suffer from powerful feelings of worthlessness that don’t result from life events.

For others, there are identifiable causes for these emotions, such as:

  • Negative childhood experiences. Abuse and neglect in a person’s early years often cause feelings of guilt, desperation, and worthlessness in later life. Sometimes “high achieving” households where everything looks ideal can also lead to problems in adulthood, particularly when children grow up with perfectionistic parents. Perfectionism is an “all-or-nothing” mindset that leads to people never feeling like they’re worthy or good enough.
  • Past relationship traumas. People who’ve suffered emotional trauma in relationships with others tend to suffer from feelings of worthlessness. People who have been in relationships with perfectionistic people may also develop feelings of inadequacy.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD often produces feelings of guilt and worthlessness. Survivor’s guilt is also common, in which a person feels guilty for surviving a traumatic situation in which others died or were injured.

Coping with Feelings of Worthlessness

Here are some ideas that can help.

  1. Be kind to yourself. Are you as kind to yourself as you are your friends? Would you treat someone you love the same way you treat yourself? Consider your self-talk. Is it full of negative messages? Being kind to ourselves helps reduce the often-cruel messages of our inner critic.
  2. Pay attention to the context of your negative emotions. Do you feel worse in a particular situation or around certain people? Do your feelings of worthlessness get better or worse depending on who you’re around or where you are? It’s important to get an idea of what might be provoking these feelings.
  3. Practice gratitude. Comparing ourselves unfavorably to others can affect our self-esteem. Practicing gratitude for what we have can help breaks us out of the habit of trying to measure up to others all the time.
  4. Forgive yourself. People often blame themselves for things they had little to no control over. They also carry a lot of guilt over minor transgressions. Feelings of worthlessness are made much worse when accompanied by persistent feelings of guilt. To let go of guilt, practice forgiveness.

If feelings of worthlessness are holding you back, Damaris Aragon, ARNP, BC provides a full spectrum of mental health care to people in Spokane, Washington, and surrounding areas. She focuses on providing personalized, compassionate care that adheres to current evidence-based standards. Reach out to Damaris through her contact page or calling 509-342-6592.

 

 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4573463/