Understanding the typical presentation of emptiness: a study of lived-experience

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of sample in Study 1 (N = 240).

Age (years)	M = 28.6 (SD= 10.9)
Gender	N (%)
Female	194 (80.8)
Male	46 (19.2)
Nationality
British and Irish	217 (90.8)
Other (European)	17 (7.1)
Other (Non-European)	5 (2.1)
Highest level of education
High school	43 (17.9)
College	24 (10.0)
Higher education	26 (10.8)
University undergraduate degree	89 (37.1)
University post-graduate degree	49 (20.4)
Doctoral level qualification	5 (2.1)
Other	4 (1.7)
Employment status
Full-time employed	110 (45.8)
Part-time employed	23 (9.6)
Student	88 (36.7)
Unemployed	8 (3.3)
Homemaker (house-wife/house-husband)	3 (1.3)
Retired	2 (0.8)
Other	6 (2.5)
Diagnoses
No diagnoses	120 (50.0)
Depression	82 (34.2)
Generalised anxiety disorder	57 (23.8)
Social anxiety	22 (9.2)
Panic disorder	17 (7.1)
PTSD (Type 1 Trauma)	11 (4.6)
Health anxiety	7 (2.9)
Bipolar Disorder	7 (2.9)
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)	7 (2.9)
Eating disorder	7 (2.9)
Complicated grief	6 (2.5)
Personality disorder	5 (2.1)
Complex PTSD (Type 2 Trauma)	4 (1.7)
Agoraphobia	3 (1.3)
Specific phobia	1 (0.4)
Other	10 (4.2)
Number of diagnoses disclosed
0	120 (50.0)
1	46 (19.2)
2	33 (13.8)
3	19 (7.9)
4	8 (3.3)
5	6 (2.5)
8	1 (0.4)
Prefer not to say	7 (2.9%)
Felt empty in life
Never	1 (0.4)
Sometimes	145 (60.4)
Often	87 (36.3)
All the time	7 (2.9)
Felt empty over last month
Never	53 (22.2)
Sometimes	108 (45.2)
Often	59 (24.7)
All the time	19 (7.9)
Suicidal thoughts
Yes	135 (56.3)
No	96 (40.0)
Prefer not to say	9 (3.8)
Suicide attempts
Yes	35 (14.6)
No	199 (83.3)
Prefer not to say	5 (2.1)

NB. Individuals may have reported multiple diagnoses.

Note: There was one missing data respectively for the “felt empty over last month” and “suicide attempt” variables. For these variables, percentages concern the valid cases (N = 239).

Table 2. Existential domains, constituting components, and illustrative excerpts from the data.

Existential domains	Constituting components	Illustrative excerpts from data
Affective, agentic and bodily self	Emotional numbness	When you don’t feel sad, you don’t feel happy, you just feel nothing […] You get told some bad news but you don’t get upset or angry, it’s like it doesn’t even register as you feel nothing. Female, Depression, OCD, PTSD, Health Anxiety Like all my feelings are switched off, things will happen and I’ll know logically that it should make me feel a certain way but I don’t actually feel anything. Female, Depression
	Lack of purpose or meaning	Feeling like you have nothing in your life with meaning. There is nothing in your life of value, despite having lots of important things such as family and friends. Female, GAD, Panic Disorder A little lost with no direction in life and unable to see a clear path forward. Female, No Diagnoses
	Acting mechanically	Just going through the motions of everyday until hopefully something starts to feel like it matters again. Female, No Diagnoses You don’t notice what you are doing like brushing your teeth, going to the toilet, as your body is just running through the motions. Female, Depression, OCD, PTSD, Health Anxiety
	Physical bodily feelings	Physically, I feel a deep ache from right in the pit of my stomach. Female, Depression, Complex PTSD, GAD, Social Anxiety, Complication Grief It’s like there’s this big hole in my chest or a pit in my stomach that feels like it sucks all the life and energy out of you. Female, No Diagnoses
	Being empty inside	For me it means to be like a kind of bottomless jug that can never be filled and that no matter how much you pour into it, how much love and support and fun and achievements and satisfaction in your work, it will never be enough. Female, No Diagnoses It’s as though I can see emotions leave my body. I feel like a person stuck inside this shell and I can see the outline of the shell. Female, No Diagnoses
Self and others	Worthlessness	I have a sense of worthlessness. That I am unable to effectively contribute to my family and partner. Male, No Diagnoses I know I have people in my life who care about me, but I am overcome by unrealistic, intrusive thoughts that their lives would be no different with or without me. Occasionally, even that their lives would be better without me. Female, No Diagnoses
	Disconnected from others	A feeling of othering and separation from society. Male, No Diagnoses You feel completely isolated, vacant, distant, confused, totally alone […]. Female, OCD, GAD, Panic Disorder
	Invisible and objectified	[…] the perception that I am seen by others as a tool or a dictionary and nothing more. Once used, I can be put aside, like any inanimate object. Female, Anorexia Nervosa To feel like […] no one would notice if you weren’t there. It’s like you are a missing person but still surrounded by others. Female, Depression, Social Anxiety, GAD, Panic Disorder
Self and external world	Detachment from the world	Feeling empty is like watching the world and your life go by but you are stuck in a bubble, and although you think you’d like to get out of the bubble and join the world, you don’t have the motivation to do it. Female, Depression, Agoraphobia, GAD Emptiness is the slow feeling of spiralling out of anything and everything, while simultaneously the outside world stays exactly the same. Your slowly slowly falling out of reality […] Male, Depression, Social Anxiety, Gender Dysphoria

Table 3. Demographic information relating to the sample for Study 2 (N = 178).

Age (years)	M = 31.6 (SD= 11.9)
Gender	N (%)
Female	139 (78.5)
Male	35 (19.8)
Other	3 (1.7)
Highest level of education
High school	14 (7.9)
College	27 (15.2)
Higher education	14 (7.9)
University undergraduate degree	76 (42.7)
University post-graduate degree	31 (17.4)
Doctoral level qualification	10 (5.6)
Other	6 (3.4)
Employment status
Full-time employed	90 (50.6)
Part-time employed	21 (11.8)
Student	46 (25.8)
Unemployed	3 (2.3)
Homemaker (housewife/househusband)	1 (1.1)
Retired	4 (2.8)
Other	10 (5.6)
Felt empty in life
Never	0 (0.0)
Sometimes	108 (61.4)
Often	65 (36.5)
All the time	3 (1.7)
Felt empty over last month
Never	44 (24.7)
Sometimes	84 (47.2)
Often	45 (25.8)
All the time	4 (2.2)

Figure 1. Distribution of ratings about the accuracy of description of the proposed definition of “emptiness.”