What is it like to feel empty?

[leavingthesoultrap]

Years ago I got diagnosed with BPD which might be or might not be a correct diagnosis... But to get to the point, one of the main symptoms is a chronic feeling of emptiness.
What should I imagine behind that? I honestly struggle to grasp the concept

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I think it may feel different for everyone. I've often felt numb or listless but I'm not even sure that's true emptiness. It feels like I have to have felt emptiness before and yet the words to describe it aren't coming to mind.

 

[derpyderpins]

I guess it's kinda weird to describe. To me, being "empty" isn't the same as feeling nothing, but it is passive to an extent. It's not the same as sadness, either, though.

It honestly feels like I'm hollow. It's like the inside of me was sucked out through a straw and I'm just loosely held together bones. It doesn't hurt. It's not awful. It's almost a little out of body now that I'm trying to describe it. (I'm feeling empty today so it's a good time to write this out.) As I type this, I know I'm typing, but there's no focus on it. It's like I'm not feeling the normal sensations of the world around me. My brain is in one place and my body is just doing it's thing to get us through the day.

 

[Midwest_Indigo]

I guess it's kinda weird to describe. To me, being "empty" isn't the same as feeling nothing, but it is passive to an extent. It's not the same as sadness, either, though.

It honestly feels like I'm hollow. It's like the inside of me was sucked out through a straw and I'm just loosely held together bones. It doesn't hurt. It's not awful. It's almost a little out of body now that I'm trying to describe it. (I'm feeling empty today so it's a good time to write this out.) As I type this, I know I'm typing, but there's no focus on it. It's like I'm not feeling the normal sensations of the world around me. My brain is in one place and my body is just doing it's thing to get us through the day.

Yes to all of this. It's difficult to put into words, but you've done it well here. I appreciate the differentiation between this and feeling nothing and feeling sad. I think there are slight variations. To me, sometimes the emptiness is worse than anything else. I feel like a shell and I know who I am technically but I can't connect to any part of me, or who I should be.

 

[Makoto]

Maybe this description is a little basic, but for me it is that feeling that you know you are missing something, but you don't know what it is that you need. There is something you desperately need, but you don't know what it is and yet you always feel that lack.

 

[derpyderpins]

Maybe this description is a little basic, but for me it is that feeling that you know you are missing something, but you don't know what it is that you need. There is something you desperately need, but you don't know what it is and yet you always feel that lack.

I felt this. For me it's a slight variation, where I can imagine what I need but I'm constantly reminded it won't happen. Like I've lost a competition, but the competition is life as a whole.