Reasons Why You Might Feel Worthless And How To Stop

Worthless is a strong word yet some people seem insistent on using it loosely when describing, wait for it, themselves. If you are someone who struggles with feelings of worthlessness, read on.

Reasons why you might feel worthless

It can be one or many reasons why people feel worthless. Generally, this actually isn’t because of any real evidence that indicates the person is indeed worthless, it is just a feeling based on a poor perception of one’s self. If you feel worthless, the most likely culprit is poor evidence that you have taken as hard proof. For example, you might’ve failed a few tests and magnified that. You possibly attributed your worth to something miniscule and when/if you failed, you took that as proof that you are worthless.

Failure is a big reason for feelings of worthlessness. But even when it is no big deal some people overreact and judge their own value based on it. Per test example; it’s just ridiculous to attribute your worth to a test, a presentation or any other assessment. These are in no way indicative of how much you are worth as a human, but you may feel that they mean something.

Another possible reason for feelings of worthlessness could be powerlessness. You might see something you dislike in your life and feel incapable of changing it. Your reaction turns inward and you begin to feel worthless. Again, this is not fair because just about anyone can face a challenging situation that gets the best of them. But you may have decided that your inability to act is indicative of your lack of worth.

Also, one of the most major reasons for feelings of worthlessness is depression. This one can be a tad bit annoying because you might know you’re not worthless but this disease makes you feel as though you were.

No matter what the reason is (either way the reason shouldn’t matter), feelings of worthlessness need to be resolved. And indeed they can be.

Here are some things to do if you feel worthless

1. Remind yourself you’re not

This might sound easier said than done but it actually should be easy. No human is truly worthless regardless of what you think about yourself. How does that even make sense? A person is remarkable as it is, and when you factor in our thoughts, feelings and ambitions you can see that every person is valuable.

When you feel like you’re worthless you are viewing yourself incorrectly. Remind yourself of your accomplishments. Think of the things you want to do. If you don’t have ambitions, create them and work towards them no matter how many times you may fail. Any person who has the ambition to do something good in the world for themselves or others is someone who automatically has value. The difference between feeling worthless and not feeling worthless lies almost entirely in the feeling itself, and not what you actually are.

2. Give yourself value

People have a habit of formulating their opinions about their own worth based on the external world. This, of course, is fragile because the world around us is never obligated to conform to our ideal. People may have convinced you that you’re worthless. It’s also possible you’ve encountered failures that make you feel as though you were worthless. External factors do not determine outward value, though.

First, disconnect your value from the world around you. Second, give yourself value by building an identity that you can be proud of. Walk away from things you can walk away from and accept the things you can’t change. Do things that make you feel valuable like doing something good for the world or building up your skills. It doesn’t matter what you do, but do something to make you feel good about yourself. If you take on a new activity or hobby, try to make it a non-competitive one for the time being. The last thing you should do if you feel worthless is to put yourself at risk of losing and possibly making those feeling worse. Yes, a lot of people lose in life, that’s normal. But if you feel worthless this may hurt you more because you might be more sensitive, so try to avoid it when you can and accept it when you can’t. This should only continue until you build up your self-worth and confidence and you can more easily tolerate defeat.

3. Reward yourself for the little stuff

If you have feelings of worthlessness there is a good chance you dismiss the little wins in life. You may not feel that they are significant enough to consider but really the small things should be rewarded just as much as the big ones. You doing something that seems minor does not mean it is minor.

If you get up in the morning and make yourself breakfast, that is an accomplishment. Some people struggle to do that. Maybe you watched an educational video online and learned something new you can use in life. Guess what. That’s an accomplishment. Try to set attainable goals for yourself and succeed at them. This should remind you that you are not worthless and it is also a great way get things done.

4. Use feelings of worthlessness to grow

Emotions are a form of mental energy and feelings of worthlessness usually bring about strong emotions. If you feel a lot of emotions from these feelings of worthlessness then you should be taking your mental energy and putting it towards accomplishing something worthwhile. Use any energy you may have to better yourself, accomplish things and make yourself feel more valuable. The outcome doesn’t even matter here, but the process of working on your own forward movement should be enough to give you something to find joy in.

5. Surround yourself with people who reinforce your worth

There are people who may make you feel worthless. Some of them you might be able to avoid and others might kind of just be a part of your life. Regardless, try to find and surround yourself with people (either new or old friends) who make you feel valuable. People who listen to you and who contribute knowledge to your life in order to help you grow are most ideal in this regard. These should also be people who reinforce you and pick you up if you fall, not laugh at you.