{"id":125535,"date":"2022-05-17T11:00:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T10:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=125535"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:51:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T11:51:00","slug":"feeling-useless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/feeling-useless.htm","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Useless &#8211; Why it Happens and How to Feel You Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_125543\" style=\"width: 277px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-125543\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-125543\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-lilartsy-6502500-267x400.jpg\" alt=\"feeling useless\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-lilartsy-6502500-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-lilartsy-6502500-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-lilartsy-6502500-600x900.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-lilartsy-6502500.jpg 709w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-125543\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">photo by Lilartsy for Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #333399;\">by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Feeling useless can feel even worse than<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/why-do-i-feel-hopeless.htm\">feeling hopeless<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/feel-like-giving-up.htm\">Hopelessness<\/a> means things feel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-cope-life-is-crazy.htm\">beyond our control<\/a>, but uselessness has us pointing the finger directly at ourselves. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">We deem ourselves as not good enough to have any effect at all&#8230; and it\u2019s a dangerous game for our psychological and emotional<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/mental-wellbeing.htm\"> wellbeing<\/a>. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Why do I feel so useless?<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/016402757912003\">Early research<\/a> <strong>looked at our lifestyles to understand feelings of uselessness. It connected several variables<\/strong>, including education, income, health, and family situation. <\/span><span class=\"s1\">The conclusion was that we are most likely to feel useless when we are a young adult without a job, or in our senior years and feeling lonely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Modern research, on the other hand, shows that now loneliness might be the key factor <\/strong>for all of us.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong> <\/span>A<a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.563420\/full#ref15\"> recent study on female university students<\/a>, for example, directly connected a greater sense of loneliness to feeling we don\u2019t matter to the world and to others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>study called this combination, of loneliness and feeling like we don\u2019t matter, as the \u2018double jeopardy\u2019 for mental health. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The \u2018mattering construct\u2019 <\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>That earlier research taking into account what we do with our lives, which at first glance seems basic,<\/strong> actually had a grain of what was to become the most recent understanding of why we feel we don\u2019t matter. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>It turns out that mattering is a two-way street.<\/strong> While first it was thought that the \u2018mattering construct\u2019 was formed of the the need to be important to other people\u201d, new research suggests it\u2019s not enough to only feel others value us, we need to see that we are doing things of benefit to others.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Award-winning community psychologist<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/ajcp.12368\"> Isaac Prilleltensky sums up the new view of mattering nicely<\/a> when he says , \u201cto make sure that the need for mattering is fulfilled, we must balance feeling valued with adding value. Moreover, we must balance adding value to self with adding value to others.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Mattering, self-esteem, and your mood <\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_125542\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-125542\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-125542\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"feeling useless\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-ron-lach-9830810-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-125542\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">photo by Ron Lach for Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>But isn\u2019t mattering and feeling useful the same as having self-esteem?<\/strong> They are related, but research shows there is a nuanced difference. Again, mattering isn\u2019t just about feeling good about ourselves, but feeling we are contributing to the lives of those around us. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>And feeling you matter might be even more important than having high esteem.<\/strong> A <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1177\/0734282919890786\">study looking at mattering vs self-esteem<\/a> in university students found that feeling you don\u2019t matter was more likely to cause serious depres<\/span><span class=\"s1\">sion, particularly if it was supported by negative social feedback. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">ADHD and feeling useless <\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Do you live with a constant sense that you can\u2019t live up to your potential, no matter how hard you try?<\/strong> And it\u2019s not just about loneliness or not contributing, but a certainty you are really should be more useful? That leaves you endlessly frustrated?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s worth learning about<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/adult-adhd-quiz\">attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)<\/a>. It means your brain can\u2019t stay on track well to finish things, no matter how high IQ you might be. In this case certain types of therapy like<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-london.htm\"> CBT therapy<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-an-adhd-coach.htm\">coach specialising in ADHD<\/a>, and sometimes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/adhd-medications-uk.htm\">ADHD medication<\/a> can make a difference.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">How can we feel like we matter?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Research might show that we need to find a way to feel valuable to ourselves and others, but easier said than done.<\/strong> The problem with feeling useless is that it comes hand in hand with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/mild-depression.htm\">low moods<\/a>, meaning our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/no-motivation.htm\">motivation<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/causes-of-exhaustion.htm\">energy levels<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/foggy-brain.htm\">clarity of thinking<\/a> can be far too low for us to take action. So we might need to deal with our moods and our need to matter at the same time. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"s1\">1. Challenge your thinking.<\/span><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_125544\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-125544\" class=\" wp-image-125544\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-pixabay-261735-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"feeling like you matter\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-pixabay-261735-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-pixabay-261735-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-pixabay-261735-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-pixabay-261735-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/pexels-pixabay-261735.jpg 709w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-125544\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">photo by Pixabay for Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The first step can be challenging the thinking that tells us we are useless in the first place. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/the-humanistic-approach.htm\">Humanistic therapies<\/a> would suggest looking to the past and finding evidence that contradicts your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-thinking.htm\">negative thinking<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-use-a-self-help-journal.htm\">Journaling<\/a> can be helpful here. <\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0What have other people thanked you for doing in the last few months? It doesn\u2019t have to be big, it can be as small as helping someone with a simple task. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">List the skills you have that you\u2019ve used to help others with in the past: organising, listening, making phone calls,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/sympathy-and-empathy.htm\"> showing empathy<\/a>, making people<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/laughter-does-it-really-improve-your-psychological-health.htm\"> laugh<\/a>, cooking\u2026 they all matter. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">2. Practice negative comparison. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>We can be so busy<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/comparing-yourself-to-others.htm\">comparing ourselves to people<\/a> who have seemingly perfect lives we lose any sense of reality. Not helped by the fact that research shows that upward comparison (comparing ourselves to people who seem to be ahead of us) is guaranteed to make us feel bad. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>But research also shows that <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/psychology\/downward-social-comparison\">downward comparison can have the opposite effect<\/a><strong>.<\/strong> It\u2019s not about being mean, it\u2019s just a private moment to see that in some ways you are doing better than you think. Who do you know, personally or otherwise, who doesn&#8217;t make any effort to be useful to anyone? Are you really the most useless person in the world still?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">3. Connect with a stranger. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>If we are feeling useless and lonely and try to connect with someone we know it can backfire.<\/strong> We have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/high-expectations.htm\">expectations<\/a> they will<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/nobody-understands-me.htm\"> understand us<\/a> as they know us. If they fail to meet our expectations, we can be left feeling worse. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>That\u2019s why sometimes it can be a better idea to just get out the door and be around<\/strong> strangers. Talk to a shopkeeper, smile at a stranger on the bus, notice what we have in common with the people passing us by, even if it&#8217;s just a similar sense of fashion. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If you are<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-stop-being-depressed.htm\"> too depressed<\/a> to get out, then try a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/mindfulness-help-guide.htm\"> mindfulness meditation,<\/a> where you think of all the other people around the world also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/feeling-alone.htm\">feeling alone<\/a> and like they don\u2019t matter. We are never alone with our human suffering, we share it, and it can feel oddly comforting to realise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">4. Stop looking at big goals as the answer. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-set-goals-that-work.htm\">Having big goals<\/a> can be exciting and keep us pushing ourselves forward. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>But even if we reach them, we generally find that the excitement and sense of achievement doesn\u2019t last long.<\/strong> A read of any biography of a hugely successful person will quickly illustrate this. You might find that many of them still suffer with feelings of not being useful enough, or even from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/impostor-syndrome.htm\"> impostor syndrome<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The wisdom here is that it\u2019s not actually about the end goal but the journey there. Again, feeling useful comes from feeling we are adding value, and that can be something we do daily, not just when we reach a big win. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">5. Take small consistent actions instead. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Once you create some breathing space for yourself with the previous point, consider how <\/strong>you can make helpful actions a smaller, more consistent part of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Start with a brainstorm list of all things, no matter how tiny, you can do to <\/strong>be useful in a way that affects others and leaves you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/why-do-i-feel-bad.htm\">feeling good<\/a>. And it can be something to help animals or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-ecopsychology.htm\">the environment<\/a> if you are more that way inclined. It could be as simple as writing some positive supportive comments on people\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/quit-social-media.htm\">social media accounts<\/a>, or picking up litter from the local beach. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>What small action from your list can you put into effect today?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Could you schedule one small action into your diary now for each day of this week?<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What sort of therapy helps with feeling useless?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Most will, to an extent, as they all focus on helping you to<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-listen-to-yourself.htm\">get to know yourself<\/a> and your own<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/find-your-inner-resources.htm\"> inner resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/existential-therapy-right-fit.htm\">Existential therapy<\/a>, for example, focuses on helping you create a life you feel good being in and that gives you a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/finding-your-purpose-anxiety.htm\">sense of meaning<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/solution-focused-therapy.htm\">Solution focused brief therapy (SFBT)<\/a> helps you recognise the resources and skills you already have and have used in the past.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-london.htm\">Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)<\/a> focuses on helping you challenge your negative thinking, changing it to more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/balanced-thinking-benefits.htm\">balanced and helpful thoughts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Need unbiased help to recognise your own inner resources and create a life of value? We connect you with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/\">top team of London therapists<\/a>. Or use our sister site to find <a href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\">UK-wide therapists based on other client reviews<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-117271 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-397x400.png\" alt=\"Andrea M. Darcy\" width=\"121\" height=\"122\" \/><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amdarcy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Andrea M. Darcy<\/strong><\/a> is the lead writer of this site. With training in person-centred therapy and coaching, she is a popular online mental health writer for many years. Find her also on Instagram @am_darcy<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Andrea M. Darcy Feeling useless can feel even worse than feeling hopeless. Hopelessness means things feel beyond our control, but uselessness has us pointing the finger directly at ourselves. We deem ourselves as not good enough to have any effect at all&#8230; and it\u2019s a dangerous game for our psychological and emotional wellbeing. Why [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":125543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,4,125],"tags":[224,378,260],"class_list":["post-125535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety-and-stress","category-depression","category-self-esteem","tag-anxiety-stress","tag-depression","tag-loneliness","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Feeling Useless - Why it Happens and How to Feel You Matter - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does feeling useless plague your days? Research connects it to unique reasons. 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Darcy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/feeling-useless.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/feeling-useless.htm\",\"name\":\"Feeling Useless - Why it Happens and How to Feel You Matter - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/feeling-useless.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/feeling-useless.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\\\/counselling\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/pexels-lilartsy-6502500.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-17T10:00:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-06T11:51:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Does feeling useless plague your days? 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