The sense of meaning and purpose is one of the most common themes in psychotherapy. Often, however, a person will search for meaning where it cannot be found and will thus fail to see its true source. When that is the case, the experience of emptiness, meaninglessness, boredom, or a lack of fulfilment continue to prevail one’s life.

Dependency is embedded deep within the personality. It has far-reaching unconscious manifestations and is associated with depression, physical illness, eating disorders, addiction, unfulfilled relationships, a sense of aloneness, issues with commitment, or an experience of emptiness, purposelessness, and confusion.

Spiritual bypass is a form of unconscious avoidance in working through unresolved trauma and is often used as a form of resistance to change and sabotage of therapy.