Languishing

Do you ever feel emotionally flat, ill at ease, or apathetic? Mired in procrastination without ambition or motivation, and lacking a sense of purpose, control, belonging, or connection? Most people fall into this state at some point in their lives. “Languishing,” according to Corey Keyes, the Emory University sociologist who pioneered research on the topic, can strike at any age — though it most commonly afflicts adolescents, young adults, and people over the age of 75.

According to Keyes, the symptoms of languishing might resemble depression, as both conditions can trigger a loss of interest in life. However, depressed people feel a sense of hopelessness, often along with immense sadness or suicidal thoughts. Languishing, on the other hand, refers more specifically to feeling a lack of agency to direct one’s own life. Languishers feel uncertain about the future and struggle to make decisions. And languishing often goes hand in hand with loneliness.