An existential crisis is an anxious state or a feeling of comprehensive psychological discomfort as a result of thinking about the essence of existence. This concept is common in countries where basic needs are satisfied. A person’s existential crisis can arise in adolescence or maturity (at the time of assessing the years lived), during the maturation of the individual. Such an experience can be quite painful, since there is no opportunity to find the necessary answers. There are several ways to cope with an existential crisis. Some individuals decide to stop asking these questions, since many different problems require participation and solutions. Others find a way out in the realization that only the present has meaning, so it is necessary to live it fully, so that later you do not regret the missed moments.
What it is
This phenomenon is typical of an intelligent creature that has been spared the need to worry about survival. Such a person has a lot of free time, which he unintentionally begins to devote to thinking. Most often, such thoughts lead to disastrous conclusions.
So, existentialism is a crisis, which is an irrationalist direction in the philosophy of modernity, where the existence of the individual is placed at the center and intuition is affirmed as the main way to comprehend reality. Although the concept significantly influenced the development of the culture of past centuries, it did not stand out as a philosophical direction. In other words, the subject believed that his existence had great meaning, and then, looking at himself from the outside, suddenly realized that life has no purpose.
The concept carries the following characteristics:
- lack of sleep;
- constant dissatisfaction;
- psychological trauma;
- feeling of loneliness;
- isolation from the world and depression;
- understanding of the inevitability of death (especially when an illness is detected);
- awareness of the complexity of the universe;
- search for meaning and a high degree of experience;
- misunderstanding of the functioning of reality.
Existential crisis in psychology
At the moment, the term is still being studied by psychologists, but has already been identified as an independent concept that provokes depression and in some cases leads to suicidal methods. Therefore, in order to help a person, you need to carefully delve into his specific problem and only then select ways to get rid of a psychological disorder.
It has been scientifically proven that along the path of life, an anxious period occurs several times and mainly coincides with the transition stage. The most common is the midlife crisis of 40-50 years, when it already becomes clear that the end of life is not so far away. The countdown of time is no longer called “from the day of birth”, but “until the day of death”.
A well-known psychotherapist, describing the symptoms, singled out one syndrome from all cases, which he called “Sunday neurosis.” According to him, the greatest depression of the individual occurs on the weekends, when there is no need to run to work, but at home everything has been done, emptiness and a feeling of uselessness and loneliness sets in. The world is full of entertainment - a swimming pool, active games, enjoying nature, food, music, creativity. However, the person does not want anything, and all proposals seem meaningless and unnecessary. Instead of going on adventures, he prefers to stay at home on his bed in front of the TV with a bottle of beer.
Existential loneliness
In addition to realizing personal uniqueness in the Universe, humanity needs to realize that each subject always remains alone. Because no human subject is capable of feeling what another individual feels. And it doesn’t matter whether a person is surrounded by thousands of his own kind, merges in ecstasy with a partner, or is locked within four walls with himself alone.
Inevitable existential loneliness implies that the existence of human individuals is predetermined by his individually unique sensations and thoughts, inaccessible to other subjects.
Understanding existential loneliness can bring an individual both absolute freedom and slavery, and can become a generator of unprecedented strength or sources of great problems. This is due to individual choice. At the same time, it is impossible to avoid the state of loneliness. And only in the power of the individual himself to transform him into independence and force him to work for him. Responsibility for personal existence and independence also increase the experience of the described state, since in reality it is impossible to delegate responsibility for one’s own existence to anyone. This burden is individual.
Existential loneliness is, first of all, caused by the correlation of one’s own personality with nature, the perception of oneself as a holistic reality. If this need is not satisfied, then a feeling of loneliness arises, expressed by longing for the Fatherland, interaction with nature. The described type of loneliness will not disappear in communication with one’s own kind, but will only be temporarily muffled, since the reasons for its occurrence live outside the circle of human communications. This experience is not observed in everyone; more often it arises in individuals of certain professions, whose activities are connected, for example, with nature.
Individuals have a strong need to connect with the mystical and God. In the absence of its satisfaction, the characteristic experience of loneliness arises. This factor is fundamental in the formation of various sects and in the emergence of religious fanaticism.
For some subjects, the need to feel and realize their own uniqueness often remains unsatisfied. An individual experiencing self-isolation understands that the one-sided development of his own “I” neutralizes the formation of other aspects, as a result of which he feels uncomfortable. This variation of loneliness is expressed in the form of an orientation toward the “True Self.”
Cultural loneliness is expressed in the experience of detachment from cultural heritage, which was previously a significant part of existence. More often it manifests itself as a break with previous value guidelines, which is an important element in teenage life.
Social loneliness is much more common. It is associated with the interaction of the individual and the team. Social loneliness arises in exile, rejection by the collective, rejection by the group.
The individual feels his own rejection, that he was excluded, rejected, not appreciated. The feeling of rejection by society, of one’s own uselessness, more often arises in subjects who were unable to occupy a certain place in society. Such individuals are characterized by anxiety about their own social status and anxiety about social identity.
Subjects who need socially significant involvement are more likely to suffer from this type of loneliness. These are old people, teenagers, low-income people, eccentric people, women. It is precisely because of the fear of social loneliness that people actively join the team and participate in social activities.
Another variation of social loneliness arises when the human subject is perceived only as a role. Along with the type of loneliness described above, there is usually interpersonal loneliness. However, it is due to rejection or rejection by a specific person.
Individuals experiencing all of the above types of loneliness suffer from a personality disorder - anomia. An anomic individual is characterized by a rejection of his own person and environment, or a tendency to carry out actions under external control, attributing responsibility for the path of life to fate. An anomic individual often feels as if he exists without reference points in free (empty) space. People get tired of this kind of existence. As a result, existence loses value, and suicidal attempts are not uncommon. Such individuals are unable to fight on their own with the painful experiences of loneliness.
When and why does an existential crisis occur?
In many cultures, we do not determine the meaning of existence ourselves, but follow spiritual instructions and believe that if life is represented by higher powers, we only need to follow the rules and fulfill our destiny.
In a traditional society, everyone also has a developed model, a special behavioral set, which most often lies in the range of survival and satisfaction of basic needs.
Psychologist Daria Milai
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When a person has enough money for his own home, a roof over his head, has a good job, food and everything is in order with his health, the main problems fade into the background and deep thoughts come: “Why am I living?” In a period of religious decline and moral decline, fewer and fewer people can find the answer to this question. That’s when an existential crisis sets in, and it’s impossible to predict at what age this will happen.
As a rule, this is a sudden disappointment and acceptance that death is inevitable. A person is used to believing that his life is important, but at a certain moment he does not find any evidence of this. The condition is provoked by events: separation from a significant other, death of a loved one, illness, etc. Also, the concept is not related to social status and level of achievement - successful, rich people also fall into depression.
Existential fear
Often, fears of an existential nature are considered a separate type of fear, not caused by a specific life event, but more related to the inner essence of the human subject. As a result, existential fears have a number of specifics and are inherent in all people, but they lurk in the depths of the subconscious and therefore are often not recognized by a person. Due to the depth and uncertainty of the content, fears of an existential nature are almost impossible to completely cure. These fears can only be minimized.
The described fears are divided into:
– fear of old age, death, in other words, fear of the unknown of the future;
– spatial fears can take various forms: fear of closed or open space, darkness, depth;
– misunderstanding of oneself and fear of one’s own personality, fear of one’s thoughts, insanity, manifestations of personality traits, possible actions, fear of losing control over one’s own person;
– fear of life, manifests itself in fear of the unknowability of life: fear of the inexplicable, mysterious, enigmatic, meaninglessness of existence.
Some authors identify another group of existential fears – fear of order and fear of its absence. This variation of fears can be expressed by an obsessive desire to establish forever a certain way of life, a way of life. At the same time, such subjects are afraid of novelty: a change of job, place of residence, starting relationships and disorder. The described type of people usually finds themselves in an area where a clear routine, routine, and punctuality are important. Or, on the contrary, it is revealed in the desire to destroy the predetermination of existence, stereotypical behavior, which leads to the emergence of fear due to the need to follow a clearly established order (more often such individuals find themselves in creativity). However, the fears described are inextricably linked with the fear of space, which is why they are often not classified as a separate subgroup.
Symptoms
Existential crisis is a non-medical concept, since it has no specific signs. Some may suffer from depressive syndrome, others from psychological problems, and others from various emotional disorders. Manifestations in behavior that can be attributed to crisis symptoms:
- there is a feeling of loneliness and emptiness and self-pity;
- fear of old age and death is formed;
- there is constant dissatisfaction.
If you find symptoms in the list that characterize your condition, and you don’t know what to do to overcome an existential crisis, seek help from a specialist. It is better to prevent the problem as quickly as possible before it becomes chronic.
[edit] See also
- Emo
- OBVM
| [ + ] “Existential crisis is the opium of the people!” | |||||||||||||||||
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Search for meaning
The work of many scientists in the field of psychology argues that a sense of meaning in life directly affects well-being and level of happiness. People who don’t see it are more likely to slide downhill, lose their identity, or go with the flow. The onset of a crisis moment in the life scenario of every person is the starting point for rethinking one’s spiritual values. If you can’t get out of this situation on your own, you should contact a specialist.
Existentialism is...
Existentialism is a direction in which the subject of study is the existence of a person with his ordinary problems, tragedies, and emotions.
The bias towards the tragedy of human existence makes existentialism a “ philosophy of despair .” This is one of the most popular movements in Western philosophy of the 20th century.
The polyphony of existentialists is extremely heterogeneous and diverse, but all are united by an interest in the main themes - human existence, freedom, choice, death, the meaning of life.
“A man died, in front of the gates of heaven he sees the Apostle Peter and said to him: “Excuse me, Apostle, I have one question for you.” I lived for a long time, but I still didn’t understand what was the meaning of my life? - Do you really want to know this? - Very! — Do you remember in 1975 you were traveling on the Vorkuta-Moscow train? - Well... I think I remember. — You and your fellow traveler were still talking. - There was something like that... - And then you and he went to celebrate your acquaintance in the dining car. “Perhaps...” There was a red-haired woman sitting at the next table. - Yes, yes, there was something like that... - She asked you to pass her the salt. - Exactly! I remembered, I asked him to pass the salt shaker! “And you gave her the salt.” - Yes, yes, I did. - Well, here it is...
*Bearded existential Soviet joke
Existentialism formed as a separate philosophical movement before the First World War and existed until the mid-1960s, going through all the disasters of the 20th century.
But the origins of this philosophy must be sought in the 19th century - in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky, the ideas of F. Nietzsche, the teachings of the Danish thinker Søren Kierkegaard, who is called the founder of existentialism.
*Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)
It was Kierkegaard who derived the concept of existence, which became the central category of existential philosophy.
For the first time in the history of philosophy, the Dane poses the question bluntly - why, in fact, philosophers are concerned with anything - the essence of being, the primacy of matter, God, the knowability of the world, universals, will and other vague concepts - but turn their nose up at the pressing problems of the common man with his experiences, problems, fears?
Kierkegaard turned philosophy towards ordinary people. From now on, it should help a person make an internal choice, feel for his Self, and find an idea worth living for.
It is not surprising that existential questions are often heard in works of fiction. Perhaps this philosophical direction is reflected in literary creativity .
F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Rainer Maria Rilke, Alberto Moravia - this is not a complete list of writers who raise existential themes in their works.
*Albert Camus about life
Most people live in conditions of inauthentic existence; they go with the flow, without thinking why and where. “Be like everyone else” is the motto of such a life.
In contrast, Kierkegaard puts true existence - existence , life, where a person makes a conscious choice, controls his destiny, finds himself and his calling.
Thus, the goal of human life is existence, finding oneself. Existential truth is not something that is known, but something that is experienced by each person individually.
Existential problems
Existential problems or existential crisis is a condition that appears in a person when he cannot understand what the meaning of his life is, what its value is and why he lives. As a rule, such questions are asked by people who live in developed countries. Because their basic needs have already been met and the struggle for survival is over.
For example:
- “What is the point of building relationships if all people die alone?”
- “What is the purpose of my life?”
- “What’s the point of what I do if I’m soon forgotten?”
- “How do I know that what I’m doing is good?”
Goals of existentialism
Existentialism places great emphasis on human education. In particular, education should prepare a child for life. Namely:
- teach him to recognize his true “I”. The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said that there is an “I” that we are at a certain moment because we exist, and there is a “I” that we become because we work on ourselves;
- help him realize himself. For self-realization it is very important to understand yourself, your emotions;
- prepare him for tragedies in life. Namely, accept the fact of your future death and learn to enjoy life;
- learn to make your own decisions; explain that a person is free in his choice;
- help him adjust socially. Existentialism teaches that, first of all, social adaptation means the ability to value not only one’s freedom, but also the freedom of other people;
- help your child develop unique character traits;
- instill in him a sense of responsibility. Existentialists are confident that a person makes his own choice and is responsible for it.
Existentialism through the eyes of ordinary people
There are many home-grown and certified philosophers on the Internet. It would be interesting to hear their opinions:
- Existentialism is a philosophical concept; it is not so easy to explain in simple words. This is such a personal feeling of a person when he seems to look and evaluate himself from the outside. Understanding the temporary nature of his own existence, he still does not regret his stay on this earth. These sensations can be temporary; some people are able to experience them only in the face of a mortal threat or immediately before death.
- Existentiality is, in simple words, when a person does not blame nature, circumstances or other factors for his actions. Every choice is an act of free will; it is free will and responsibility that have become the subject of consideration in philosophy.
Impact of the crisis on mental health
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Unsolved problems have a strong impact on the psycho-emotional background. The symptoms are reminiscent of prolonged depression, but things are much worse. Lack of desire to live, the meaninglessness of what is happening, complete indifference and apathy are just some of the signs of the impact of a painful condition that can result in alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction and suicidal tendencies. Many people do not know how to survive an existential crisis in a relationship and begin to engage in self-flagellation, lowering their already low self-esteem. There is a way out - to go through the path to recovery, together with a qualified psychologist.
Human problems
Troubles are born at the moment when there is disappointment in previously formed ideals. The individual no longer experiences joy from career growth, hobbies, relationships with loved ones and loses faith in his own importance. There is an opinion that this only happens to people who have a lot of free time, and those who are thinking about how to feed their family, care for relatives or raise children have no time to delve into the sidelines of their own dissatisfaction. This is partly true, but the impetus for such reasoning and the crisis itself can be not only the presence of vacant hours:
- loss.
- taking psychedelic drugs;
- threat to life;
- long isolation from society;
- parting.
The inability to abstraction leads to existential depression and, as a result, loss of interest in the future.
Loneliness
Feelings of loneliness or prolonged separation from significant people are one of the main provoking factors of personality change. A person can be lonely if he is indecisive, afraid to make contact and be rejected. But this condition is fixable.
It’s worse when the inner emptiness is fueled by apathy or depression. In this case, the individual falls out of reality, does not feel supported, and is sure that society does not understand him. The main danger of such thinking is suicide attempts, when, due to a lack of values, an individual considers existence a burden that needs to be gotten rid of.
Fear
As mentioned above,
This is also one of the signs of a crisis, an existential state, which in an advanced form is supported by anxiety and horror. According to experts, there are several types:
- Fear of living. People do not understand how the world works and consider every day meaningless against the backdrop of the vast universe.
- The panic before death needs no description.
- Before yourself. A person keeps himself in control, constantly restraining his emotions. A threat is born that someday all the internal negativity will burst out.
- Fears of space: various phobias, fear of swimming, darkness, enclosed spaces, etc.
Guilt
Guilt is an integral part of human existence. The difference between an adequate feeling and a neurotic one lies in the motivating factor. An unhealthy feeling is the feeling, based on perceived wrongdoings against society, that you are not acting in a way that is necessary or generally accepted. Normal guilt is a normal appeal to conscience.
[edit] Essence™
| « | Existence (noun) - life, being, existence; | » |
| - English-Russian dictionary | ||
In the eight-bit classics
, Philosophy, as we know, is a collection of incomprehensible answers to unsolvable questions. It would seem - what’s easier - take a dictionary and read it. But no. This nonsense, languishing from idleness and reflection, cannot even come close to admitting the ideas of some kind of dialectical materialism. For them, life is not a way of existence of protein bodies, but a fierce, mad butthurt - from the meaninglessness of the life of such a refined, creative person with high ideals... But instead of getting up and starting to do business, to prove that he is not a particularly sick nonsense, but the very thing that he imagines himself to be, a fiction, rejects this reality of yours and creates his own.
the non-spiritual objects around
™ can be described qualitatively (say “brick” and it explains everything). They do not have the so-called ineffable "existence". All the living creatures around (except humans, alas), although they are equipped with little brains, but, what a pity, they are not able to relax and reflect. This also allows them to be described qualitatively (say “cat” and that also explains everything). Consequently, they are not entitled to “existence” either. And only the king of nature, man, is able to use the brain to make decisions based on the opinions of the cockroaches in his head. Therefore, looking at kawaii lolis, it is completely impossible to determine which of them will become an honest slut, which will be an Orthodox wife, and which will become a bitch. Despite the fact that the word “person” can be painlessly replaced by the abstruse term “child” (which solves the problem with lolia), people are endowed with “existence” a little more than completely.
That's bullshit, kids...
Possible consequences
The life of each of us is full of ups and downs. Unresolved issues greatly reduce vitality and have a negative impact on professional activities, relationships with loved ones, and physical and psycho-emotional health. In other words, existing problems corrode the personality from the inside, destroying its existence. Without overcoming the negative consequences, an individual can become firmly stuck in an existential limbo:
- perceive the world as a hostile shell that has no value;
- adapt to what is happening, accumulating all your fears and self-doubts.
Many people, not wanting to overcome difficulties, rush to extremes, in particular, to alcohol abuse, gambling, etc. Any of these thoughts is extremely destructive for a person, not giving him the opportunity to develop, overcome obstacles, build a career, family, and simply live peacefully. And often we are unable to overcome this on our own.
How to Deal with an Existential Crisis
Almost any psychological disorder can be overcome. The first thing you need to do is admit to yourself that the problem still exists. Its symptoms are very similar to chronic depression, but it is much more serious. The second is to make internal adjustments to yourself, say a decisive “No” to troubles and be ready to fight them. Leading experts recommend following several effective techniques:
- Do not ignore what is happening around you, do not hide your emotions behind far-fetched activities. The inner abyss is unsafe and you won’t be able to escape from yourself.
- Try to identify the symptoms and signs of your existential crisis.
- Think about when exactly you fell into such a state, what caused your feelings of loneliness and worthlessness? Try to mentally relive these life situations again, but only with updated values, thinking and goals.
- Try to “let off steam” or “vent your soul” to a loved one. When the interlocutor is not found, write on a piece of paper everything that worries you.
- You need to live honestly, and most importantly, towards yourself.
Love
Ask a question
This feeling is capable of working miracles; it fills existence with a completely different, colorful meaning. The joy, fragrance and euphoria inherent in the “candy-bouquet” period, against the background of absolute apathy, is very good. However, it is important to remember that this internal state will disappear as quickly as it appeared. Love alone will not be enough to overcome. It is important not to stop searching for the truth, otherwise your significant other will be drawn into what is happening and suffer.
Drive away illusions
Many people believe that in order to begin to live fully and enjoy what is happening, it is necessary to achieve something. But the reality is that only a few become successful, while the rest live in their “dreams” waiting for a “miracle” that is unlikely to happen. It is important to understand that you need to live here and right now. By limiting yourself, you are depriving yourself of part of your life. It's time to leave your comfort zone and enjoy every minute.
Signs of a crisis
During an existential crisis, a person feels lonely in a broad sense (in the entire universe) and constantly thinks about the meaning of his existence. There are no characteristic signs of a crisis; the subject can either remain cheerful in public or withdraw into himself. However, at the internal level, an existential crisis is always accompanied by:
- anxiety;
- fear and tension;
- uncertainty;
- negative emotions (anger, resentment, irritation, sadness);
- inability to concentrate;
- apathy, loss of previous interests;
- indifferent attitude towards one’s appearance and condition.
An existential crisis is always experienced internally very hard. This is a negative, depressing state that provokes negative thinking. If you don’t fight this and don’t direct your thoughts in a positive direction, then the crisis will end in tears.
Outwardly, there are two options for the manifestation of a crisis - a person is active, grabs hold of everything, tries to do a lot and try a lot; the personality withdraws into itself. The second option is more useful, but at the same time more dangerous. On the one hand, in order to understand the crisis, you need to recognize it and talk to yourself, find out what exactly made you doubt your significance and usefulness. Maybe you envied some couple and realized your loneliness, or the success you expected at work never came. But on the other hand, it is important not to get lost in the labyrinths of consciousness and subconscious, to find a constructive solution to overcome the crisis.
How to help a person overcome an existential crisis
The first thing you need to understand is that you cannot cope with such a problem alone. For an individual facing troubles, support from people dear to him is very important. This is where empathy comes into play. Empathize, listen to what your loved one says, try to understand his pain. Never mock his feelings, as this can cause irreparable harm to him. Falling in love will also help overcome the disease. It opens up a new level of trust and makes you look at the world differently. Understanding his importance in the life of his loved one, a person will overcome any difficulties.
Afterword
The search for the essence of life is associated with human self-realization. Indeed, no one will like to hear that he is useless or that his existence and death will not change anything. Sublimation has a positive effect, that is, self-expression in creativity, for example, in music, poetry, prose, drawing.
Each person at some point tries to argue for his existence, someone says that “everything is God’s plan,” someone gives birth to children and sees the meaning of their life in prolonging the human race, and someone creates new medicines. There are, of course, unique people who insist that they were sent by higher powers, who constantly contact the individual, saying that he must convey something important to the whole world or simply knows how to heal. But this story often ends in psychiatry.
Advice from psychologists
A high-level specialist will not give recommendations without thoroughly studying the client’s history. Only on the basis of an in-depth analysis of the individual situation can effective treatment be prescribed. Today there are several popular and effective methods for getting rid of an existential crisis.
Insulation
It involves deliberately detaching yourself from “bad” thoughts, bad emotions and thoughts that disturb the soul. There is an opinion that people who have nothing to do, who do not value their life and the time they have lived, like to talk about the meaning of life. And there is some truth in this - keep yourself busy with work, ordinary activities, an exciting hobby, then there will simply be no time left for suffering.
Fixation
Everything is more complicated here - you need to try to accept the structure of the modern world, note in your mind that everything moves according to a strictly defined, cyclical algorithm. Yes, life is full of injustice, disappointment and oblivion, but we live according to a certain program and must adapt to it.
Sublimation
This method involves a qualitative redirection of the energy of anger, discomfort, fear and aggression into the channel of positive emotions - creativity, love, virtue. The last values of being are the basis that we have no right to change. Any obstacle can be overcome if you follow your heart and seek help from specialists in time.
How to overcome
All researchers come to the conclusion that the crisis of existence can only be overcome by recognizing that the meaning of life lies in living the present moment. A person does not have a given mission and there is no objective meaning of existence, but everyone creates a subjective meaning of their life. Accordingly, to overcome the crisis you need to find your personal meaning in life.
What could it be:
- Job;
- creating a family or developing a family;
- giving birth and raising children;
- creation;
- social activity, charity;
- transferring your experience, training the younger generation;
- finding love, building relationships;
- faith;
- animal care;
- other.
The media, family, stereotypes, attitudes and beliefs received from other sources during socialization help to argue for the fact of a person’s existence.
The feeling of total loneliness is the second element of an existential crisis. You can overcome it only by recognizing that even the highest level of empathy will not allow you to understand and feel another person. The inner world of each person is unique, yes, it sometimes causes a feeling of loneliness, but you need to learn to use it. Successfully overcoming a crisis involves accepting one’s uniqueness and uniqueness. If you highlight a specific feature in this, develop it and use it in self-realization and the realization of the meaning of life, then the crisis will be resolved successfully.
It is necessary to overcome the crisis and find a purpose in life, otherwise the state will turn into despondency, passivity, and indifference to oneself and one’s life. Gradually, addictions, deviations, degradation and self-destruction will join this. Often a protracted crisis ends in suicide (since there is no point, then why wait for death).
