What Is Wrong With Me? 10 Reasons Why You Feel This Lousy Way
“What is wrong with me?” If you have often found yourselves asking this question when you feel down and lost, it can be due to many factors or maybe no reason.
We’ve all been there, thinking continuously about what the problem might be. For some, it can be due to bad decisions they made. For others, it can be a major life event that might have changed the course of their life and has made them think they’re never at par.
While it’s normal to have days like this every once in a while, sometimes, these feelings can spiral out of control, leading to larger problems. And you begin to wonder daily, “what is wrong with me?”
Well, I am here to tell you that you are not alone and there may not be many things wrong in you. This feeling is totally normal, and this is what it means to be human. Instead of battling and getting frustrated over these nihilistic thoughts, you should become self-aware and see why these feelings arise.
No matter how mentally strong you may be, it’s natural to feel this way sometimes.
So to deal with these feelings the right way, I will tell you 10 crucial strategies. But before we go into these details, let’s see the possible causes of these feelings.
Reasons You May Feel Like Something Is Wrong With You
There might be several reasons that might be making you feel that something is not right now. They can be temporary problems or permanent setbacks that change how you see life.
Finding what’s causing a disturbance in your mood will help you overcome this phase. See if some of these reasons might be the cause for feeling in such a way.
1. Believing You’re Not Good Enough
Have you ever felt like you’re not good enough? Like no matter what you do, you always end up failing? If so, you’re not alone. It’s perfectly normal to have occasional negative feelings.
However, if you’re experiencing them all the time, it might be time to sit back and see why you feel off.
If you have low self-esteem, you won’t be able to enjoy anything in life. When you question, “what is wrong with me?” you create a lower image of yourself in your mind and automatically deem yourself incapable of adding any value to society.
To change this defeatist mindset, you need to see what’s actually true and what’s not. By objectively assessing your thoughts, you can see that the situation is not as bad as you think.
The most useful thing you can do now is to reassess your approach toward your goals and change the techniques that aren’t working for you. That way, you’ll become more self-confident and regain your self-esteem.
2. Surrounded by Negative People
Being surrounded by negative people or a negative work atmosphere can also make you question, “what is wrong with me?”.
Instead of picking and cheering you up, a negative company always drains the energy out of you and keeps you doubting and questioning your abilities.
In this case, you need to get out of that negativity and surround yourself with positive people. Instead of getting backbitten and dragged down by the so-called friends, it’s time you take action and change for the better.
3. Having Imposter Syndrome
One of the main reasons why people feel like there is a problem with themselves is because of impostor syndrome.
It’s an internal conflict in which people feel they’re not competent or deserving of success. Even though they may have achieved a lot, they still feel like they’re just faking it and will eventually be exposed as fraud.
People with impostor syndrome often feel they have to work twice as hard as everyone else to prove they’re good enough. If they don’t, they question themselves if something is wrong with them.
If you feel like this, then it’s important to understand that everyone feels like this at some point in their lives.
To overcome this challenge, focus on your success and not compare yourself to others. Give yourself credit for your achievements, and don’t downplay them.
4. Feeling Powerless or Helpless
If you feel like there’s no point in even trying anymore, it’s a sign that something is wrong. Everyone goes through a phase in life where they might feel powerless or helpless.
Whatever you plan does not happen the way you expect, and all the efforts seem to end in vain. It’s natural to feel this way in these circumstances.
The most useful solution, in this case, is to relax, take time, reevaluate your goals and not lose hope.
Inner strength and confidence are what make all successful people successful. Realizing your capabilities and living life the way you want is important if you want to overcome obstacles and feel empowered.
5. Being Isolated
It is estimated that one in three adults suffer from loneliness or isolation. This means that millions of people worldwide feel disconnected and alone. While it is normal to feel lonely sometimes, chronic loneliness can seriously impact both physical and mental health.
According to a study, loneliness is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes daily. It can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and depression.
In addition, isolated individuals are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as excessive drinking or drug use.
If you feel lonely and isolated or hear inner voices saying, “what is wrong with me?” it is important to reach out for help. It could be a signal that you need to connect more with others.
Whether it’s making small talk with the cashier at the grocery store or attending a support group meeting, reaching out to others can help you feel less alone.
6. Feeling Unattractive or Unworthy
It’s not uncommon to feel unattractive or unworthy at some point in your life. Maybe you don’t like how you look or feel you need to improve.
Maybe you feel like you don’t deserve love or attention. These feelings are normal, and they’re usually based on our own insecurities and self-doubt.
However, it’s important to remember that everyone has flaws, and nobody is perfect.
It’s also important to remember that these feelings are usually temporary and don’t reflect how we really feel about ourselves.
If you’re feeling unattractive or unworthy, try to reminding yourself that everyone is worthy and needs to surround themselves with people with eyes to see it.
7. Being Too Hard on Yourself
While it’s quite normal to underestimate ourselves and push for constant improvement, we can sometimes get carried away with this.
By talking negatively about ourselves, we promote feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Negative self-talk involves listening to the voice in your head that says things like “I’m not good enough,” “What is wrong with me?” or “I’ll never be able to do that.”
This inner dialogue can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading you to believe that you are incapable or unworthy.
Apart from that, it can also sabotage your efforts to reach your goals, causing you to give up before you even start. If you engage in negative self-talk, try reframing your thoughts in a more positive light.
Instead of telling yourself that you’re not good enough, remind yourself of your past successes.
8. Feeling Overburdened
It’s common to feel overburdened sometimes. You might be stressed by everything around you. You might be wondering, ‘what is wrong with me?’ but it is just a consequence of you being overburdened and nothing that can’t be fixed.
Managing your university, job, family, bills, and whatnot can be quite overwhelming. However, too much stress can be problematic for you.
It might be time to take a step back and relax your mind a bit. Too much stress can creep up on you and make you wonder about your insufficiency.
And you might feel you can’t keep up with the challenges of life.
9. Feeling Guilty and Over-Personalizing
If you feel guilty all the time, even when you haven’t done anything wrong, it’s a sign that you’re mentally burdened. Guilt is normal, but over-personalizing everything will constantly make you worried.
Remember that not everything is your fault, and you’re not responsible for making every person linked to you happy.
Sometimes prioritizing your feelings is the only right thing, even if this means putting someone’s else feelings to the side.
10. Worrying or Being Overly Anxious
We all feel anxious and nervous, whether it is giving an exam, a job interview, or talking to the public. Feeling anxious is a normal reaction to any uncommon situation you don’t encounter daily.
However, when anxiety becomes debilitating enough to prevent you from thinking rationally, it becomes a problem. According to research, excessive worry leads people to expect the worst of every outcome and prevents them from thinking rationally.
So instead of doubting yourself and questioning, “what is wrong with me?,” reframe your mind and think about what might be causing such a thing.
This will help you understand that anxiety is more due to our false perceptions than the real thing.
10 Important Ways To Tackle The Question “What is Wrong With Me?”
1. Acknowledge your feelings
Don’t try to bottle your feelings and emotions up. It is beneficial to breathe and realize that you’re going through something unusual.
We are humans, after all. Don’t try to push your feelings down or ignore them. Recognizing that you’re feeling negative emotions is the first step to managing them.
2. Accept Unhappiness
Truth be told, happiness is not a perpetual state. We can dream and idealize being happy all the time, but this rarely happens in reality. This is true for even the most successful people you can think of.
Everybody has his fair share of problems. Life moves in ebbs and flows, and there are good and bad times for everybody.
Recognizing this fact alone will help you get free from idealization and will make you complacent about your current situation.
3. Talk to Someone You Trust
Connect with family and friends and vent whenever you feel like you are mentally stressed. It can be helpful to talk to someone who understands and accepts you unconditionally.
Whenever you are worried and wondering, “what’s wrong with me?”, go to your close friend and let it all out. You’d be surprised how so many people feel the same way.
Not all friends will want to connect to you in such a state. Not everyone would have great advice, but those who also had a tough time like you would definitely want to help.
4. Exercise Self-Care
Practicing self-care and being self-conscious are the best things you can do when the question “what is wrong with me?” pops up in your mind.
Self-care doesn’t mean that you become selfish for yourself. It means taking care of yourself so you can function as a productive member of society.
If you cannot be the best version of yourself, how can you expect to help others?
Exercising self-care not only improves your mental health, as shown by research but also improves your confidence and makes you more productive.
So whenever you feel down, just relax and take some time out for yourself. And you’ll rejuvenate yourself both mentally and physically.
5. Being Patient With Yourself
When you say “what is wrong with me” several times in a row, you should consider being patient with yourself. Instead of wallowing in despair and depression, understand that healing takes time.
Only if you let your feelings flow and stop putting a time frame on your healing will you be able to recoup yourself fully.
Spend some time alone with yourself and listen to your inner voice. With time, you’ll see what’s the problem and will eventually get over it.
6. Remember That No One is Perfect
It’s okay not to be okay. You’re allowed to have bad days and don’t have to put on a brave face for everyone around you. It’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or sad.
Finally, remember that your feelings are temporary. They will eventually pass, and you will feel better again.
7. Practice Goal-Setting
You probably need to set new targets for yourself when you feel something is wrong. This can be anything you want to improve in yourself.
You automatically develop confidence and a sense of purpose when you practice setting SMARTER goals for yourself and achieving those targets. Instead of being depressed about your situation, you become a better version of yourself.
This unique finding was also found in criminals who set goals for getting correctional education during their imprisonment. The research found that such criminals had 43% less chance of committing further crimes and provided them with skills to get back on their feet.
8. Getting Your Sleep in Order
If you find yourself sleeping late and not feeling good the whole day, it’s time to get yourself back in order.
When you stay up late, you keep your sleep deprived-brain in a loop of asking you the same question again, i.e., ‘what is wrong with me?’
The only solution to this problem is developing good sleep hygiene. Going to sleep early and waking up early is the best thing you can do for yourself when you feel low.
For that, you must not use your phone and cut back on social media before sleeping. Consider a social media detox if you are too glued to your smartphone.
Also, make sure to limit your intake of caffeine and sugary food right before bed.
Not only will this help you get a good night’s sleep, but it will also help you be more active during the day and free from such thoughts.
9. Read Personal Development Books
The sure way to solve the problem of “what’s wrong with me?” is gradual self-improvement. And there is no better to do this is to make great books your best friends.
There are plenty of self-help books around, and you can use them to fix the weak areas of your personality. Don’t get confused about the sheer number of variety of books available. Selecting a book is purely your choice.
However, whatever book you choose, be sure to implement and put it into use. It takes effort to do so, but after seeing the results, you will develop a habit of reading them regularly.
10. Move Your Body
When you feel something is wrong, just grab your sneakers and go for a jog or hit the gym.
It is very helpful for you to work out regularly, as moving our body helps release endorphins that elevate our mood. When you hear, “what is wrong with me?” inside your head, these natural painkillers will come to the rescue and help you sleep and reduce stress.
Multiple studies have shown that people who undertake recreational running have immense mood improvement and also report a reduction in depression, stress and anxiety.
Apart from that, any type of vigorous exercise can help reduce negative thoughts as well.
So whenever you feel down and start wondering what’s wrong with me, just move. Get up and stop being a couch potato. And always remember that a healthy body harbors a healthy mind.
Final Words When You Feel Something Is Wrong With You:
After reading all this information, I hope you have gotten the answer to your question: “what is wrong with me?”.
The answer is that there is nothing wrong with you, and everything is good and will become better. You just need to reframe your mind and let yourself know that everyone feels the same way you do. No one is perfect, and nobody has a perfect life.
What matters is that despite this feeling, you get up and do your best every day. This is what will help you develop a better and stronger version of yourself.
In the end, you’ll look back and see how much you’ve grown just by working on this little question you asked yourself!