Are you flourishing or languishing?
Mental health is usually described as being in a state of wellbeing that enables people to undertake productive activities, fulfilling relationships and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity. It is more than just the absence of mental illness, in much the same way that health is more than just the absence of disease.
Living in a state of mental health is often described as a state of flourishing, with attendant positive feelings, emotions and functioning. At the other end of the spectrum to flourishing is languishing, a feeling of stagnation and emptiness and the absence of mental health.
Signs and symptoms
A lack of feeling or a sense of emptiness and unhappiness
Reduced ability to take pleasure in previously enjoyable activities
Low motivation, a sense of apathy and that life lacks purpose or meaning
Trouble focusing or maintaining attention
Feeling like life is not progressing
Withdrawal from social activities and relationships
Low performance at work and in personal activities
It is important to note that someone can experience a state of languishing (that is the absence of mental health), without experiencing mental illness. Equally important, however, is that languishing can be associated with psychosocial impairment at levels comparable to an episode of depression. It is associated with poor emotional health, lost days of work or productivity.
Languishing is different from burnout and depression, which are characterised by a lack of energy or a feeling of helplessness. But it shares a common thread, a sense that you are trying to run through treacle or looking through smudged glasses. Everything is a little bit harder, a little more blurry. You have the foot down on the pedal, but the engine is still stuck in first gear. Despite your best efforts, you cannot function at full capacity.
It's not just a reaction to stress, with the environmental and social context also likely to play a role. For example, extroverts may be more prone to languishing during periods of isolation, and introverts may experience languishing during peak social periods such as holidays.
How to tackle languishing?
Adam Grant suggests that trying to achieve a state of flow may be the antidote to languishing. Flow is a mental state where you become so completely immersed in an activity that time seems to stand still.
“There’s this focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Grant also notes that ‘fragmented attention is an enemy of engagement and excellence.’ Our attention is becoming more fragmented with the demands of work and the overlay of social media. It is important to set aside some uninterrupted time to immerse yourself in something that is meaningful to you.
Reconnecting to meaning and purpose in both work and life is also important in overcoming languishing. Setting meaningful and achievable goals to work towards can help with this sense of purpose and direction.