Excesses have become daily bread, largely because we live in a society of appearances in which success is measured by the number of followers on social networks, the meters of the house we live in or the price of the things we buy. In this context, excesses emerge as a way to reach those standards and demonstrate one’s own worth.
However, behind these exaggerations often hides a deep feeling of existential void, a desperate search for something deeper: a sense of belonging, a need for love, validation or purpose.
The paths of excess, a route to inner nothingness
From food and alcohol to work, compulsive shopping, the gym, binge-watching series or social media, excesses in any area, far from being simple habits, usually reflect deep existential voids that we try to fill in the wrong way.
The inner emptiness generates a latent feeling of dissatisfaction, something constantly reminds us that we have a space to fill, which generates frustration. In that state, excesses seem like a viable solution to complete ourselves or, at least, forget about that feeling of emptiness for a while.
But the truth is that excesses will not exorcise hopelessness or lack of purpose. In fact, the emptiness often increases when the adrenaline rush produced by shopping, social media likes, or training at the gym has passed.
In reality, these excesses only lead to a more unbalanced life. In an attempt to cover our shortcomings, we ignore our deepest emotional needs. Then there comes a point at which they control our behavior, plunging us into a vicious circle in which excesses deepen the emptiness and become a true “drug” with which we avoid facing the problem of lack of purpose in life.
The courage to recognize what we lack
Jean-Paul Sartre argued that life lacks intrinsic meaning, it is we who must create that meaning. However, the freedom and responsibility to shape our lives can be overwhelming. In that void of predefined meaning, excess becomes a temporary refuge, an illusion of purpose and satisfaction.
Many of the people who experience this existential emptiness fall into excess because they know themselves very little. It is likely that they have not updated the version of themselves for a long time, moved by the rush of everyday life, daily obligations and routines, they have disconnected from their deepest needs and desires, they have become detached from their “self.”
Therefore, the first step to ending these gaps is to recognize their existence, instead of hiding them through excesses. Self-exploration and reflection are also crucial steps in understanding what we are really missing in order to feel whole and at peace with ourselves and the world around us.
Simone de Beauvoir, for example, stressed that authenticity requires the acceptance of our freedom, but also of the responsibility that it entails. Excesses, on the other hand, are acts of self-alienation, a way of avoiding freedom through submission to immediate impulses and desires. In this sense, excesses are not only a symptom of existential emptiness, but also a renunciation of autonomy and authenticity.
Recognizing what we lack requires deep reflection on our emotional needs, beyond the trivial, the material or what others expect of us. It takes a lot of courage to recognize that we are far from leading the life we want or the one we desired at the time.
The fight against emotional emptiness is not easy. Overcoming an existential crisis is not easy. But excesses are not the solution. Turning our gaze inward to find the source of our anxieties will help us find a new balance in which we do not feel the need to fill anything with superficial rantings.
This process of introspection will guide us towards a more authentic life, with true purpose, supported by a much deeper understanding of our existence and our place in the world.
