{"id":79064,"date":"2020-01-13T20:40:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T04:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=79064"},"modified":"2020-01-15T20:21:26","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T04:21:26","slug":"finding-vitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/finding-vitality\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips for Finding Vitality After It Has Gone"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

\u201cVitality\u201d refers to a state of being in which\none feels especially alive. Phrases that capture this state of being include \u201cphysical\nor mental vigor<\/a>,\u201d \u201clived\nexperience<\/a>,\u201d or \u201caffirming\na sense of physical or psychological identity<\/a>.\u201d\nWhen you feel a sense of vitality, rather than simply plodding your way through\nlife, you feel energized, awake, motivated, and driven to experience every day\nwith inspired engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most of us, the feeling of vitality comes\nand goes. We might feel it after a workout, following a yoga session, or after\na quick dip in the ocean. It rarely lasts. And for some people, this feeling\ndisappears altogether. When it does, life becomes mechanical, staid, and\nuninspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does vitality go away? And how can you reconnect with it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are, of course, many reasons for vitality\ndisappearing<\/a>. Boring tasks, work or\ntechnology overload, interpersonal conflicts, and feeling drained by competing\ndemands can all contribute to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I\u2019d like to focus on one particular,\noften neglected, cause of disappearing vitality called essential\ndepression<\/em>.
\n
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Essence of\nDepression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essential depression was first described by French\npsychoanalyst Pierre Marty<\/a>. Unlike current\nconceptualizations of depression in which people feel sad,\nguilty, and melancholy<\/a>, people with essential\ndepression do not have any overt symptoms. Instead, metaphorically speaking,\nthey feel like someone has let the air out of their tires. And this feeling\nsometimes stays under the radar until essential depression sets in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marty saw essential depression as the essence of\nall depressions. Usually, essential depression starts with diffuse anxiety that\nfollows a loss, the impact of which is understated or not recognized. This\nperiod is followed by reduced vitality, with an operational mental life filled\nwith current and factual content. In addition, people with essential depression\nare action-oriented and conformist. In a sense, it\u2019s a way of \u201ccoping,\u201d but it\u2019s\nactually maladaptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The missing elements in essential depression are\nan active imagination and fluid emotions. In addition, people with essential\ndepression have little interest in processing their own or others\u2019 thoughts and\nemotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A More Disorganized Mind<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tricky part about essential depression is\nthat there are no actual symptoms. Instead, as Marty put it, there is a\ncanceling out of the psyche that sterilizes one\u2019s impression of who one is.\nCalled dementalization<\/a>, this process leads to people overinvesting their energy in facts\nand behaviors while ignoring the subtler aspects of their own minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Marty<\/a>, a person with essential depression has thoughts and ideas that\nare devoid of instinctual, drive-related energy. In part because of their own\nfrustrations, they ignore their ambitions. As a result, all thoughts become\nmechanical and process-oriented. In fact, disconnecting or hiding from one\u2019s\ndrives and instincts and building a mechanical life, while possibly\n\u201cpractical,\u201d can eventually spill over to bodily symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps to Combat\nEssential Depression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\nWhat, then, can you do about this state of disintegration? While exercise,\nyoga, and swimming provide a temporary respite from essential depression, they\u2019re\nnot sufficient. Instead, try one of the following exercises to combat essential\ndepression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Integrate your\nfantasies.<\/strong> Life is full of ups and\ndowns. And our minds can\u2019t really absorb the shock of living without fantasy\nand imagination. Setting aside time to understand, engage, and integrate your\nfantasies is what will protect you from essential depression. In that sense,\nfantasies act as a \u201cpsychic cushion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fantasies, or \u201cphantasies<\/a>,\u201d as Freud referred to them, are imagined fulfillments of\nfrustrated wishes. Sometimes, they appear in dreams. At other times, you even\nprivately reflect on what this might look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself, \u201cIf I got exactly what I wanted,\nhow might this change my life?\u201d When you do, you might be surprised that what\nyou think you want is not what you actually want. Or the vividness of your\nimagination might help your brain discover ways to make your fantasies real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Schedule unfocus\ntime.<\/strong> Preconscious\nmaterial<\/a> is not always reached through voluntary effort.\nIt often is not. Aside from dreams and fantasies, preconscious material emerges\nwhile doing something else. Going on a hike, walking down your street, lying in\na hammock, doodling, or simply driving to the local store and taking in the\nsunrise can all give you opportunities for this emergence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my book \u201cTinker\nDabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind<\/a>,\u201d I explain how these kinds of activities activate the default\nmode network. This brain\nnetwork<\/a> represents much of what is preconscious. Often,\nyour preconscious wishes are unacceptable, uncomfortable, or even offensive.\nThe idea is to simply be aware of them and to make time for this to emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Do something that you\ndid as a child.<\/strong> Many of our\npreconscious representations come from childhood. For instance, you might\nremember trying to make bread with your mother as a child, with a specific\nsmell of dough that activates a stream of associations. When you \u201cregress\u201d to\nearlier stages of development, you give yourself a chance to include these\nassociations in the matrix of your mind. This allows you to feel \u201cwhole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Change the ways in\nwhich you violate your self.<\/strong> There are many signs\nthat you have violated your self. Conformism and excessive rationalization and\naction are a couple of them. The absence of vitality points to this as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pediatrician and psychoanalyst\u00a0Donald Winnicott once said<\/a>, \u201cRape and being eaten by cannibals are mere bagatelles as compared with the violation of the self\u2019s core true self.\u201d Although this is a deep issue to handle without a psychotherapist, you can start by finding the least threatening nonconforming part of your self and expressing it. Jewelry, a tattoo, or music might be avenues to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this sense, finding vitality outside of essential depression requires recognizing the limits of rational thought and action. Instead, making time for fantasies, paying attention to dreams, and scheduling time to allow your preconscious a presence in your mental representations will allow you to feel more alive. And safe regressions and nonconformist behaviors can help this, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Srini\nPillay<\/em><\/a>, M.D., is the CEO of\nNeuroBusiness Group and the award-winning author of numerous books, including \u201c<\/em>Tinker\nDabble Doodle Try: Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind<\/em><\/a>,\u201d \u201cLife Unlocked: 7 Revolutionary Lessons to Overcome Fear,\u201d and\n\u201cYour Brain and Business: The Neuroscience of Great Leaders.\u201d He also serves as\na part-time assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School,\nteaches in the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School, and is\na <\/em>LinkedIn\neducator<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cVitality\u201d refers to a state of being in which one feels especially alive. Phrases that capture this state of being include \u201cphysical or mental vigor,\u201d \u201clived experience,\u201d or \u201caffirming a sense of physical or psychological identity.\u201d When you feel a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12814,"featured_media":79066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32,6],"tags":[4631,4629,7750],"yoast_head":"\n4 Tips for Finding Vitality After It Has Gone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/finding-vitality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Tips for Finding Vitality After It Has Gone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cVitality\u201d refers to a state of being in which one feels especially alive. Phrases that capture this state of being include \u201cphysical or mental vigor,\u201d \u201clived experience,\u201d or \u201caffirming a sense of physical or psychological identity.\u201d When you feel a … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/finding-vitality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-14T04:40:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-16T04:21:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-01-13-at-8.39.03-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"657\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"436\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" 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