The crisis of meaninglessness (DW#983)
Oct 20, 2021
By now, many of us are aware about the rise in mental distress leading to rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicide.
In 2018 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released startling new statistics on the rise of deaths by suicide in the U.S., up 25 percent since 1999 across most ethnic and age groups.
Numbers such as these clearly point to a crisis of mental distress in the West and we need to understand the reasons behind it if we are to turn the tide.
[Although I have not been able to find validated studies on the impact on particular populations such as Muslims, it appears that many believe that faith groups are also reflected in these rising numbers. In other words, belonging to a faith community is not automatically protect people from mental health distress]
Many mental health experts argue that this is a crisis of mental health care, that people are not getting the services they need and that some populations in particular, are greatly underserved. While partly true, there is more to this story because the suicide rate has increased even as more people are seeking treatment for depression and anxiety, and even as treatment for those conditions has become more widely available.
To get a fuller understanding, we may consider listening to behavioral scientists such as Clay Routledge, a professor of social psychology at North Dakota State University.
Routledge explains that the need for meaning is a basic human need and that the suicide crisis (in the West at least) is in part a crisis of meaninglessness.
He beautifully explains that the human capacity to reflect on ourselves, to think about the past and the future and to engage in abstract thought has given us access to some uncomfortable truths: Human beings are acutely aware of the fragility of life - we know that we and everyone we care about will age, become frailer and die. We have experienced and recognized that life is uncertain and there is pain and suffering.
And so, we ask ourselves: What is the point of it all?
In order to keep existential anxiety arising from this question at bay, explains Routledge, we must find and maintain perceptions of our lives as meaningful.
Unlike what some pundits would have us believe, the human species does not only strive for survival. Ultimately, we strive for significance – the knowledge that our lives matter. That we are useful in some way. That we add goodness to the lives of others.
When an understanding of why we matter is absent, we suffer from meaninglessness and this makes us psychologically vulnerable to mental and emotional distress.
Studies in the field of social science have validated claims such as these. Studies show that a felt lack of meaning in one's life has been linked to alcohol and drug abuse, depression, anxiety and suicide.
When people experience loss, stress or trauma, not everyone suffers from long term mental distress because of it. Those who believe that their lives have purpose and meaning are often best able to cope with and recover from life’s challenges.
In other words, in order to cope with the uncertainty, brevity and fragility of life on this planet, and develop resilience in the face of challenges, it makes sense to foster a sense of meaning and purpose for ourselves.
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