Existential dread or existential crisis are unsettling feelings of despair and uncertainty that occur when you think about your life, its purpose and meaning, or even mortality. Typically, these feelings happen in important moments in life, for instance, during big life transitions or crises. Everyone will likely experience an existential crisis at some point in their lives. It is now more frequent than ever since there is a lot of input from other people’s lives that makes us question our own.
Existential dread is a feeling state rather than a clinical diagnosis. Still, these overwhelming feelings can seriously impact your mental health and require professional support. Mental health facilities in Arkansas can help you understand what existential dread is and why it is happening to you. Furthermore, we can teach you how to cope with existential dread by equipping you with skills and techniques for managing stress and anxiety.
What Is Existential Dread?
We can consult different sources to answer the question of what is existential dread. Existential dread is more frequently known as an existential crisis, and it is derived from Erikson’s concept of identity crisis.
Keeping in mind Erikson’s definition of existential crisis, some authors claim that existential crisis can happen several times in life whenever one deals with identity issues related to one’s future. Seen this way, existential dread might take place when making choices about college or in your mid-to-late-twenties when you seek resolutions to identity issues, but the issues are more complex than before. Finally, when confronted with your own mortality, legacy, and achievement, an existential crisis might happen later in life.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), however, an existential crisis is a psychological or moral crisis that causes a person to ask fundamental questions about human existence and their own existence and purpose in the world.
Existential Dread Vs. Anxiety
The main characteristic of existential dread is worrying about the future or role one has in life, making some wonder what the difference is between having an existential crisis and experiencing high levels of anxiety. While anxiety is overwhelming worry about the future, it can be related to many different aspects of one’s future, including small, daily struggles. Existential crisis, on the other hand, is a broader concept that includes anxiety related to big existential questions and other negative feelings, including those characteristic of depression that frequently accompany it.
Existential crises can be caused by big, significant life events, reaching certain milestones, or encountering unforeseen events. Global occurrences like pandemics can also cause them. When they happen and in what form they take depends significantly on the culture and environment. They manifest in a variety of symptoms, anxiety being only one of them, which is why they are often described as overwhelming.
Why Does Existential Dread Feel So Overwhelming?
There are several factors that contribute to the existential crisis being overwhelming. Pressures coming from society, questions we ask ourselves, as well as a variety of symptoms impacting mental health can all lead to a state of full loss.
- Psychological factors. Psychological factors refer to your core beliefs being shaken by difficult-to-answer questions, such as what’s the meaning of life and where you fit in this world. This makes existential dread particularly intense. You might wonder if you were mistaken your entire life or whether things would be different if you had made different choices.
- Cultural factors. There is always a certain societal pressure to act a certain way and achieve things by a certain age. Pressure might come from family and friends through expectations or comparisons. Social media can also contribute to this invisible pressure to perform or achieve. However, you can control this source of pressure by occasionally doing a social media detox.
- A variety of symptoms. As already mentioned, intense anxiety that is not tied to a particular concern is the main feeling during an existential crisis. However, you may also feel guilty about the past or hopeless about the future. You can feel lonely and isolated, as if nobody understands what you’re going through. You might lack motivation or energy or even experience obsessive thoughts and questions without arriving at any answer.
Existential dread often looks like an unsolvable situation. However, there are quite a few strategies you can implement to resolve your situation.
How to Deal with Existential Dread
There are many solutions for how to stop existential dread you can choose from. Some of them you can implement on your own, and for some of them, professional help is required. Even with external help, your daily routines need not be disrupted, as you can opt for outpatient mental health Arkansas options.
- Psychotherapy. In many cases, psychotherapists are the ones who know the best responses for how to deal with existential dread. They might suggest cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) provided at anxiety treatment centers in Arkansas. These approaches help you analyze your thinking patterns and encourage you to increase your commitment to healthy and constructive activities that uphold your values.
- Mindfulness and grounding techniques. Mindfulness and similar techniques help you feel connected, grounded, and present in the moment. They help you reduce overwhelming thoughts by allowing them to pass without judging them. Mindfulness can easily be implemented in daily activities, such as yoga or meditation, helping your body and spirit.
- Physical activity and self-care. Sometimes, even small actions that improve your health, like going for a walk, doing light exercises, or practicing hobbies, can help you reduce anxiety and contribute to your overall well-being.
- Support network. Surrounding yourself with people who care for you can remind you of your role and your life’s meaning for others. A strong support network can provide a safe space to share your feelings, work through them, and overcome current challenges.
Seeking Support
While the many negative feelings that come with existential crises are overwhelming, this is a manageable state. By introducing certain techniques (like mindfulness), implementing several lifestyle changes, and opting for professional help, you can help yourself find meaning and purpose. You can use this opportunity to lower the intensity of existential dread, learn from it, and re-discover yourself.
Reach out to Time Wellness Arkansas to inquire how we can support you. We can customize our treatments and provide a variety of approaches tailored to your needs and circumstances. Use this moment in your life to grow and thrive.
References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304186703_The_existential_crisis
https://dictionary.apa.org/existential-crisis