With the “roadmap” out of the Coronavirus lockdown looking pretty much on track, and occasional glimpses of Spring around us (despite a few recent days of cold wet weather), we should perhaps now be feeling much more optimistic and excited about the year ahead – but this doesn’t seem to be the case for many.
We all know that the last year has been tough, particularly on people’s mental wellbeing. Prescribing of anti-depressants and referrals to counselling services have massively increased – but there’s something else lurking – a lack of motivation, an absence of optimism and excitement perhaps?
I came across an interesting article in the Irish Times, exploring the concept of “languishing”:
“Friends mentioned that they were having trouble concentrating. Colleagues reported that, even with vaccines on the horizon, they weren’t excited about 2021. A family member was staying up late to watch National Treasure again even though she knows the movie by heart. And instead of bouncing out of bed each morning I was lying there for an hour, playing Words with Friends.
It wasn’t burnout – we still had energy. It wasn’t depression – we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing.
Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windscreen.”
For the full article, and tips on how to combat that feeling of “languishing”, click here
