I feel I living in a meaningless and repeated life. I work almost every single day. I not sure what the purpose of my life is. Is it normal?
Hey @user465175. I’ve heard a lot of people describe this feeling. The drain of waking up, working, sleeping and then repeating it again and again, until starts to feel like you’re just existing rather than living. When there’s a little time or energy left for yourself, it’s really natural to wonder what’s the point of it all. Many people do experience this at some point in their lives, especially when work takes up most of their days.
From what you shared, it sounds like you might be exhausted and disconnected from the parts of yourself that bring you a sense of purpose or aliveness. I want to offer a gentle reframe that sometimes the feeling of a “meaningless” life isn’t about a lack of purpose, but about having too little space to feel it. Working almost every day can leave very little room to reflect, explore, or reconnect with what matters to you as a person, not just as someone who works.
Since you shared about meaning, I’d love to hear (only if you’re open for it 
) what kind of things that make life feel meaningful for you? There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s just what feels true to you.
It can be tough to sit with these feelings, so I hope you can be gentle with yourself along the way, okie? Even small breaks, little joys, or moments of calm are meaningful, and you deserve to notice them. Wishing you a bit of ease and steadiness as you take it day by day 
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Hey @user465175 I’m really glad you said this out loud. It sounds heavy like you’re stuck on a loop, doing what you have to do every day, but not really feeling why you’re doing it. That can be exhausting and lonely.
If you’re open to sharing more, I’d really like to understand what this feels like for you:
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When you say your life feels meaningless, what feels missing right now?
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Has there ever been a time when life felt more alive or purposeful for you? What was different then?
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How does your body feel most days…maybe more tired, numb, anxious, or empty?
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Are you working this much because you have to, or because you feel you should?
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When you’re not working, what do you usually do and does anything bring even a small sense of relief or interest?
You don’t need to have big answers or a “life purpose” figured out. Sometimes this feeling is less about meaning and more about burnout, loneliness, or not having space to be yourself. We are here with you and you can share as much or as little as you want 
- Like a proper life a human should have. Chilling at home during weekends, hanging out with friends or even have a full proper 8 hours of undisturbed sleep.
- Used to have the financial capability to hang out with friends every weekend, sometime after work. But now, I can’t even survive the whole week with my salary.
- I know i’m both mentally and physically tired. But somehow numbness overtake them.
- I have to as i have lots of debts to clear. I want to get away with this life the soonest. Thus, i force myself to work every day even though i know my body is breaking.
- I have been working every day for months. I forgot what were i doing during the last time when I not working.
Hey @user465175,
Thanks for sharing openly and for naming something important that often gets missed.
What you’re describing isn’t a lack of purpose or motivation. It’s survival mode. Debt, an income that can’t cover the week, and months without real rest means you’re not choosing this pace and you’re stuck doing what you need to do to keep going. Anyone in that situation would start to shut down.
The numbness makes sense. It’s not you “giving up.” It’s your system trying to protect you when there’s no space to recover, feel, or even remember what life was like outside work. When you said you’ve forgotten what you used to do when you weren’t working… that’s a real sign you’ve been running beyond capacity for a long time.
And you’re very clear about what a “proper human life” means to you: decent sleep, weekends, friends, room to breathe. Those aren’t big ideals. They’re basic needs. The pain isn’t that you don’t know what matters, it’s that what matters feels out of reach right now.
If we talk about “meaning” here, it might not be a grand purpose. It might be reclaiming one human thing at a time, even in small amounts like protecting one block of sleep, or one short window each week where your body isn’t in work mode. Meaning usually returns after some safety and rest returns.
Just one check-in: if you imagine having even one free half-day again, what’s the first “human” thing you miss most sleep, seeing someone, or simply being at home without pressure?
Step by step is enough. Your system is telling the truth about what this pace is costing you.
Whenever you feel like it, recognising if its not exhausting for you, what can help you phrase a simple next-step plan that doesn’t require big changes all at once (more like “minimum viable rest” while you’re clearing debt).
I not sure when I can really sit down and start planning step by step plan on getting my life back. It’s a battle of time getting my life back vs losing my life from fatigue.
I hear that the struggle to breathe tells me the system is still braced. Not in danger right now, but “under threat”. So the next step isn’t thinking or fixing. It’s helping your body stand down a little.
Let’s keep this very small and very doable.
Right now, the body is acting like it has to keep you alive through force. When that happens, breath gets shallow, chest tightens, time feels urgent. The mind can’t lead yet.
So what’s next is this: we give the body one signal of safety. Just one.
You don’t have to do all of these. Pick “one”.
- Sit back in your chair or lie down if you can. Let your shoulders drop.
- Put one hand on your chest or stomach — not to control breathing, just to feel it.
- Take a slow breath out (the out-breath matters more than the in-breath).
Then let the next breath come by itself.
- Do that twice. That’s enough.
If it helps, quietly tell yourself: Nothing else right now. I’m here. This isn’t relaxation. It’s interrupting emergency mode. After that and only after that the next step is containment, not planning:
- For tonight, decide one thing you’re allowed to stop pushing on.
Not forever. Just tonight. - Sleep doesn’t have to be perfect. “Less bad” sleep counts.
- You don’t need clarity before rest. Rest comes first.
Meaning, plans, steps and those come after breathing is easier, not before.
You’re not failing at life. Your body is asking for a pause because it has carried you for a long time. Stay here with me for a moment. Is your breath even 5% easier than a minute ago?
I failed in my life, cause no one should live a life like what I’m living now. Nevertheless, the breathing out method helps. Thanks.
You’re naming something very real here. When it feels like a race between “getting your life back” and “breaking from fatigue,” that tells me your system is still in emergency mode. In that state, sitting down to plan isn’t a skill issue it’s just not possible yet.
I want to say this clearly: you don’t need to plan your way out right now.
Planning is a later-stage activity. Right now, your body is asking for stabilisation first.
For this moment, “getting your life back” doesn’t mean fixing everything. It means reducing the strain just enough so you’re not constantly overriding yourself.
That can look like:
- letting today be about not pushing further, rather than moving forward
- giving your body permission to stop bracing, even briefly
- accepting that rest is part of recovery, not a delay
You’re not losing time because you can’t plan yet. You’re “buying time” by listening to the fatigue instead of fighting it. You’re not failing at getting your life back.
You’re at the part where slowing down is what keeps you in the race. We can stay right here until the body isn’t under so much pressure.
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Thanks for the message. Yea I should really slow down, and prioritise rest.