Our worth is inside of us. It is the good and bad memories we leave behind. Ask Christopher Reeve. Sometimes constantly over months. The cause as best as I can describe it is intense emotional pain that I don't understand and can't control.
Therapy is such an impersonal world in which to unload terribly basic and personal pain.
I can't seem to find what I need. I strongly recommend a movie for all who consider this question. It is Jacob's Ladder. It is about a soldier in Vietnam who has been disemboweled. The story is a bit strange, but one interpretation is it is of him viewing his life as it will be if he lives.