Chronic Emptiness is a symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder that you can't observe, it's only something you can feel. A feeling that never goes away. It's an emptiness, a void, a longing, it's uncomfortable, and causes us to, in my opinion, to either depend on others, or depend on alcohol or substances. I used to say, " I can't get comfortable alone in my own head." I always felt like I needed something but never really sure what I needed. I just couldn't be alone and be still.

Even when I was surrounded with people the feeling stayed with me, the need of something more. I'm sure some try to fill it with food, others would sex, some with mind altering drugs or alcohol, and others engage in dangerous or illicit activities or even become workaholics. I think it's got to be part of the reason we become so attached to our partners, we feel like they fill us up, but the truth is they don't fill us up, they do distract us from the emptiness, and we notice it less, at least at first..

I read, that the feeling can cause difficulties in forming and maintaining stable relationships, because our profound sense of emptiness, even when we are engaging in activities with others, we feel a disconnect between ourselves and others. We just always feel dissatisfied, even when doing typically enjoyable activities. It's a feeling as if something essential is missing from our life and it never goes away, so you're never comfortable. I think it may also be the source of a lot of our impulsivity. It's our need to be distracted from that feeling that makes us make many of our poor decisions. Chronic emptiness can cause you to self destruct. I will say after two years of DBT, that I do feel a little Chronic Emptiness, it's just not a driving force in my life anymore. I am heading back to DBT for graduates, after a huge trauma, I think, it can't hurt.