The Science of Feeling Dead Inside with Dr. Corey Keyes

About this episode

Dr. Corey Keyes discusses the concept of languishing and its implications for mental health and personal flourishing.

What if you’re not burned out, not clinically depressed, and nothing in your life is falling apart—but you still feel numb, empty, or like you’re just going through the motions? In this episode, sociologist and mental health researcher Dr. Corey Keyes explains the science behind that feeling, and why he calls it “languishing.” We dig into how our culture massively underestimates mental health by defining it as “not sick,” and why that quiet definition keeps so many of us stuck. Corey shares how watching his own father’s life slowly unravel pushed him to rethink success, work, and what it really means to flourish. You’ll learn the key differences between languishing and flourishing, the hidden ways modern life pulls us toward numbness, and why feeling “dead inside” might actually be an existential alarm clock trying to wake you up. We don’t just stay in theory—we talk about what real flourishing looks like for regular people with jobs, kids, stress, and messy lives. Corey's book, Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down, is available now wherever books are sold! Support the Show - Become a Patron! Help us grow and become a Patron today…

People in this episode

Host: Smart People Industries

Guest: Dr. Corey Keyes

Topics covered

• mental health
• languishing
• flourishing
• sociology
• culture
• success

Keywords

• languishing
• mental health
• flourishing
• sociology
• existential alarm clock
• success
• numbness

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down

More episodes of Smart People Podcast

• The Economic Lie That Let Companies Sell Us Out with Eric Ries · June 5, 2026 · 54 min
• Are You Really You, or Just a Pattern Your Brain Built with Dr. Masud Husain · May 5, 2026 · 54 min
• The Plastic Problem Most People Miss with Judith Enck · March 3, 2026 · 41 min
• How to Predict Other People’s Behavior - The Process Communication Model · January 26, 2026 · 44 min
• Decoding Human Behavior: The Science of How We Show Up with Shaun Dyke · November 4, 2025 · 57 min
• Feeling Guilty for Hating Your Job? Here’s the Real Problem with Malissa Clark · October 14, 2025 · 53 min