“About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness of their lives. This can be defined as the general neurosis of our time.”
— Carl Gustav Jung

This world is a strange place. People are searching everywhere for meaning and purpose, but all too often, they come up empty. Instead of discovering a sense of direction, they find themselves swallowed by the senselessness and emptiness of life.

Carl Jung — one of the early giants of psychology — saw this clearly. Decades ago, he named it as the “general neurosis of our time.” He recognized that so much of our inner distress is not caused by clinical disorders alone, but by a deeper void: the absence of meaning.

Sadly, much of modern psychology has drifted away from this spiritual insight. Too often, the focus has narrowed to symptom management — easing anxiety, reducing depression, helping people function. Important, yes — but if we miss the deeper spiritual hunger, we’re treating surface symptoms while ignoring the roots.

Life Without Purpose

Here’s the principle: without a clear sense of purpose — something larger than ourselves we can devote our lives to — we get into trouble.

We lose our bearings. We get depressed. We get anxious, because we’ve lost perspective about what really matters and what doesn’t.

And when that inner ache grows too heavy, we look for ways to numb it. We drift toward “buffering” behaviors — overeating, porn, endless scrolling, video games, TV binges, alcohol, or any other distraction that helps us dull the ache of emptiness.

It’s not just that these habits are unhealthy. It’s that they mask the deeper issue: the lack of meaning, the lack of mission.

The Christian Vision of Purpose

As Christians, we affirm that life is not meaningless or empty. We are not accidents of biology, left to make up our own story as best we can.

We believe something different:

• That we are loved by God.
• That our lives carry value and dignity in His eyes.
• That we were created with intention.

Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2:10: “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

This speaks directly to the emptiness people feel. You and I are here for a reason. We have a mission — work to do in the world that matters to God.

Big or Small, It Matters

That mission may not look “big” in the eyes of the world. It may not involve platforms or titles or recognition. It may be the way you show up for your family. The way you mentor someone younger. The way you serve your church, your neighbors, or your community.

We never know how God will take the seemingly small things we do and weave them into His larger purposes. The important thing is not how impressive the mission looks to others. The important thing is that we are connected — to meaning, to purpose, to something that transcends our own comfort, our own consumption, our own survival.

Final Thought

When Jung said that emptiness is the “general neurosis of our time,” he could have been writing about today. The world is more distracted, more anxious, and more restless than ever.

But the antidote is the same now as it was then: rediscovering purpose. Learning to live from the conviction that our lives matter to God. And choosing, day by day, to align our energy with the mission He has given us.

That’s where healing begins.