In mental health there is a spectrum that runs from depression to flourishing. It’s the difference between feeling exhausted and hopeless, and vibrant and thriving. Many people fit neither description. They don’t feel exhausted or hopeless, but neither do they feel like greeting the day with open arms in the morning.
Back home in Scotland, when people ask, “How are you?” a common reply is, “I’m OK, thanks, getting there.” There’s a collective acknowledgment of plodding through the day, getting on with things, and going through the motions. As it turns out, there’s a word for that “meh” feeling: languishing.