"Quiet desperation" refers to a state of silently feeling hopeless or unsatisfied with one's life, without openly showing or expressing it to others. Full definition
The overall effect is of a sprawling, largely alien landscape, bubbling over with tension, danger and lives of quiet desperation. (flicks.co.nz)
Most of us lead lives of quiet desperation, knocked about every so often by rude shocks or lifted up by brief, brilliant joys. (goodreads.com)
Fourteen assembled pieces — books, pamphlets, broadsheets, scraps, a giant board — explore lives of quiet desperation in a Chicago three - flat. (booklistonline.com)