I don't have a purpose in life and feel like a robot. This cannot be good for my mental health, but I don't know how or what to change. How do I change?
I don't have a purpose in life and feel like a robot. This cannot be good for my mental health, but I don't know how or what to change. How do I change?
And, should I change?
I'm 38 years old, single, not interested in starting a family (my mother was a drama queen and I couldn't live that again with a partner or a child), don't own any property, not really a consumerist person, I max my 401k and save 70% of my net income because most of the stuff society tells me to buy is irrelevant to me (I still own clothes I bought 20 years ago and they still fit me), don't need a car and use a bike or public transportation, I prefer to cook at home because it's cheaper and I can choose what I cook. I stopped drinking alcohol 10 years ago. I'm definitively not an extrovert.
I majored in philosophy because I liked it and I still do, but never found a job with my major. I tried being a high school teacher, but teenagers are way too much for me. Nursing, what I do now, is a versatile and safer job, even if I think it's slowly killing me.
I feel cheated in life.
For 15 years I lived paycheck to paycheck paying off my debt, often having to move due to increased rent so this might be my way of coping with trauma. I still feel I'm way behind most people my age. I feel like a loser because I imagine them knowing better than me what they want in life.
It's true that comparison is the thief of joy, but I cannot stop ruminating about this.
If you read my post history you'll realize I don't really care about my job, but stay because I need a paycheck and I like having a big rainy day fund. If I was a millionaire, I'd stop working. I don't like any job.
It might be true that I'm autistic, because close human connections where never that important to me and most people I work with are not close to me, but as I'm nearing 40 I'm starting to think if my destiny is going to be to live and die alone in a nursing home. Sometimes this scares me, but I always go back to my apathetic, indifferent self, like I'm on some kind of drug that makes me not feel anything, neither good or bad, like my emotional brain is underdeveloped.
What I don't want to be is this desperate loner craving for any kind of human attention turning to post his whole life online hoping a good Samaritan comes and saves me. First because it's pathetic and secondly because that's never a good foundation to build a friendship, I'd be inviting a predator, another crazy loner, a newborn Christian to save me with god, somebody trying to scam me with a MLM scheme or an antivaxer into my life. And I'm not a 20 year old discovering the world, I'm almost 40.
Every woman I've been attracted to has ignored me and every woman that showed an interest in me wasn't good enough to me: she could be eager to make a connection, put an interest, even pretty and genuine but I cannot fake being in love or feeling attraction. I always ended up considering them as friends or acquaintances. I'm too old and too introverted (autistic?) to visit a club and try to impress a woman to go out with me.
I don't think this is depression, depression would be me not going to work not even calling in sick.
It seems clear I need a friend, but I don't know how to make friends anymore. I focused so much on surviving that I stopped caring about anyone else.
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You might try meetups around a hobby that you're into (or interested in learning about). I always suggest boardgaming because it's a relatively casual atmosphere for meeting people around an activity. There's no pressure to carry on a conversation and you're not dating these people, just meeting strangers for gaming. You usually still have to talk about the game and rules as you're playing, so it gives you something in common to talk about. The rules provide structure if you're socially awkward, so it's maybe not as chaotic as just going to a party with a bunch of people there and trying to carry on random conversations. Meetup.com is what I've tried before and that worked well for me in my area (results may vary).
That's just something to get you out of the house, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone seems like the first thing you'd want to try doing. Getting out and meeting new people can help sometimes. It sounds like you're in a rut, just sort of bored with everything, or at least wanting something more. Otherwise, maybe pick some sort of hobby or interest maybe you've though about before and just throw yourself into it if you have the time and/or money. Learn something new. Start an exercise routine or just start going on extended (30min) walks around your neighborhood. Start volunteering somewhere. Write in a journal. Just do something that's not part of your typical routine that sparks some new mental connections for you.
And even though you don't feel depressed, what you're describing still could be a sign of depression, so reaching out for support is always an option that you shouldn't feel ashamed of or anything.
Just throwing some stuff out there as ideas, but I hope everything works out well for you.