Existential anxiety is all about our existence in life, and it involves angst about big issues such as life’s meaning, freedom, and our inevitable death. This type of anxiety might be triggered by growing older or facing climate change or difficult political situations. While it can cause great suffering, existential anxiety can also be highly positive.
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What Is Existential Anxiety?
Existential anxiety is the struggle to understand yourself, life in general, and what you want out of it.1 It can cause feelings of discontent, distress, and unease that can be hard to pinpoint, and it can be highly uncomfortable. To experience existential anxiety is to experience all-encompassing doubt and deep questions about your future as well as life’s meaning and purpose.2
It’s much more than superficial worry; a hallmark of existential anxiety is not just having a worry or thought but going deeper with it and examining its meaning.1 This examination, by extension, inevitably turns to not just the meaning of a single thought but of life itself. Existential anxiety deals not with ordinary aspects of daily life but with the emotional and spiritual experience of living.3
Four main concepts are at the root of existential anxiety:4,5
- The inevitability of death
- Meaninglessness
- Isolation
- Freedom and responsibility
5 Signs You May Be Experiencing Existential Anxiety
The signs of existential anxiety aren’t always visible to outsiders but instead are internal symptoms. On the outside, someone experiencing existential anxiety might appear calm and collected. Inside, however, they might be experiencing a great deal of turmoil.
Five signs that you might be experiencing existential anxiety include:6
- An increased sense of struggle (such as indecision)
- Painful emotions like despair or regret
- Withdrawal from activities or people
- Questioning long-held beliefs, including but not limited to religious faith
- Panic attacks
Existential Anxiety or Existential Crisis?
Existential anxiety often feels rather vague and nonspecific. While there are indeed causes of existential anxiety, the root of it isn’t a single event or situation (more on the causes below). A related, but slightly different, concept is the existential crisis. This is a period of upheaval and difficulty that also involves questioning the meaning of life and one’s purpose for living.
An existential crisis, though, often has an identifiable cause and can occur during times of great difficulty such as a significant loss or trauma.7 An existential crisis occurs as a distinct period of time. In addition to happening after a loss, it can occur during a significant life transition like emerging into adulthood, facing an empty nest, or retirement; as such, it’s a time of heightened anxiety and confusion and often relates to one’s sense of identity.6
7 Ways to Cope With Existential Anxiety
Facing and coping with existential anxiety is of the utmost importance. When ignored, the risks can be dire and people can continue to suffer in their lives. When people cope with it positively, they may experience growth and find renewed meaning and connections.
Coping with existential anxiety is a process not of overcoming it (because it’s an inherent part of being human, it’s not something that will permanently disappear) but of learning to live well despite feelings of existential angst.
Use these seven strategies to cope with your own existential anxiety:
1. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a way of being with yourself and your life in which you pay attention to your present moment rather than remaining stuck in your thoughts about the past or the future. When you are mindful, you use your senses to ground yourself in the here-and-now, and you accept things as they are without judging them as good or bad. This allows you to respond to problems thoughtfully rather than react emotionally.
Mindfulness can help you deal positively with existential anxiety by keeping you focused on your life in each moment so you can take action to create meaning rather than merely thinking about problems and worrying about what will happen as a result of your choices.
2. Reflect on Your Anxious Thoughts
Look for patterns in your anxious thoughts and feelings. Identify those times when you feel less anxious and more invigorated. What is happening during these times, and how can you create more of these experiences? You may wish to chart your moods and record what you are doing when you are experiencing anxiety and when you’re not.
3. Break Your Big Questions & Worries Into Smaller Chunks
Rather than avoiding your anxiety because the issues seem daunting, confront it directly in small chunks. Make a list of the big issues you’re grappling with. Then, choose one issue that is the most bothersome to you now. Write it down separately, and break it up into smaller components. Then, you can make small goals and create doable action steps to tackle each one.
For example, if you’re worried that you’re not doing anything significant with your life, break that apart by listing all the aspects of your life (family, job, spirituality, hobbies, interests, talents, health, etc.) Pick just one, and reflect on what it will take to make this area feel meaningful to you. Now you’re on your way to determining goals and actions to work towards them.
4. Keep a Gratitude Journal
End each day by writing about positive things you experienced that day (or pause throughout the day to jot down grateful thoughts as you have them). You can include the people and circumstances in your life, and you can express gratitude for small things, too, such as a beautiful flower in bloom in your yard or the sound of children playing in a nearby park. By doing this, you train your mind to pay attention to the good in life. This provides both a temporary mood boost and a long-term improvement to your outlook on your life.
5. Find Flow by Finding Activities That Challenge & Excite You
Flow is a concept that comes to us from the field of positive psychology. It refers to a state of being in which you are completely immersed in what you are doing and all other thoughts, emotions, and distractions fade away. When you’re in flow, you are mindful of your present moment rather than lost in anxious, negative thoughts.
Flow happens when you are doing something you love that offers just the right amount of challenge—not so difficult that the task is frustrating, but not so easy that it’s boring. Try new hobbies and activities to give yourself a chance to discover a new passion that puts you in a state of flow. This process itself can be invigorating and help reduce the purposelessness of existential anxiety.
6. Seek Fulfillment by Exploring Your Values
What is important to you? It is by taking action in accordance with your values that will lead you to discover meaning. Consider taking online interest inventories like the O*NET Interest Profiler to learn more about yourself. Many of these relate to career choice and direction. You may just find a new career path in line with your values, or if that isn’t possible, you might discover passions that lead to volunteer work that bring new meaning to your life.
7. Figure Out & Learn More About Your Strengths
We all have unique character strengths that, when used intentionally, can lead to a sense of fulfillment in life. Take a strengths survey such as the VIA Character Strengths Survey to learn more about yourself, your strengths, and how you can use them every day to connect with others and create a life of meaning.
By acknowledging your existential anxiety, facing it, and taking active steps to address it, you can take charge of your life and thrive in spite of it.
The Health Risks of Unchecked Existential Anxiety
Unchecked existential anxiety can have mental health risks. Mental health challenges come with physical symptoms and are strongly tied to overall health and quality of life.
Existential anxiety is a normal part of the human experience. It doesn’t always cause problems beyond the uncomfortable signs and symptoms that accompany the periodic angst. However, if people ignore their experience, deny it, or avoid facing it, existential anxiety can negatively impact wellbeing.
Health risks of existential anxiety include:4,6,9
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Relationship problems
- Insecurity
- Sense of pointlessness and lack of motivation to try things or take healthy risks
- Hopelessness
- Deep discouragement with life
- Emptiness
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Lack of positive contributions to society
While not an inevitable part of existential anxiety, in extreme cases, existential anxiety can lead to suicide.10 If you or a loved one is experiencing suicidal thoughts from existential anxiety or for any reason, it’s important to seek immediate help. Call 911, go directly to your nearest emergency room, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or visit their website to chat with someone who can help. All of these resources are available 24/7.
Benefits of Existential Anxiety
Existential anxiety doesn’t always lead to negative outcomes. In fact, this struggle can be positive and offers the potential for significant benefits. When people are aware of their anxiety and face their struggle, they can put their lives in perspective, develop a sense of direction, and come to terms with their mortality so they can pursue meaning and create a sense of purpose.9
Confronting our existential anxiety often increases positive experiences such as:4
- Self-awareness (not just of our limitations but our potential and strengths)
- Authenticity (the ability to make decisions according to our values and accept responsibility for those choices)
- Growth and change
- Actualization (understanding and developing our potential as individuals and members of society)
- Fulfillment and meaning
- Dasein (a complex concept that involves the ability to live mindfully and interact with awareness of ourselves and others, offering our complete presence and self to our complete life experience)
Some experts assert that existential anxiety can relieve boredom and create a healthy sense of tension that motivates us to move forward; indeed, depression may actually arise not because of existential anxiety but from a lack of it.11 Without this anxiety, there is no struggle because there is no sense of potential. That lack may be the ultimate form of meaninglessness.
When to Get Professional Help for Existential Anxiety
Some people benefit from seeking professional help for existential anxiety. It can be possible to cope with existential anxiety on your own. Sometimes, though, actively using your coping skills isn’t quite enough to help you through. When you can’t seem to deal with existential anxiety no matter what steps you take, it may be time to seek professional help.
If you find that your anxiety is worsening and beginning to interfere in your ability to perform basic tasks and/or enjoy your life, getting help managing it can guide you in getting back on track. If you are increasingly distracted, irritable, fatigued, have difficulty making decisions because you’re worried about potential outcomes, and increasingly feel that life is pointless or you don’t have a positive purpose, consider reaching out for assistance. Remember that existential anxiety is a universal human experience. You aren’t alone, and others have been there and may be able to offer useful insights to help you through.
Treatments for Existential Anxiety
The only thing that will decrease existential anxiety is to face it, examine and explore it, and accept that it is part of life.6 Help is available and there are treatments for existential anxiety.
Therapy
Working with a therapist can be effective in helping you overcome many obstacles, including existential anxiety. A therapist can help you explore your anxieties more deeply so you can better understand what is at the root of your personal concerns. As your therapist listens to you and helps you listen, too, you come to understand the full range of your experiences so you can know what you want to change, how to change it, and can come to accept and co-exist with other facets of existential anxiety.12
There are many different types of mental health therapy. Some are particularly well-suited to help people deal with existential anxiety, including:
Medication
Medication isn’t typically used for existential anxiety. However, if symptoms of anxiety begin to disrupt sleep and prevent people from working or completing other tasks of daily life, medications like antidepressants or benzodiazepines are sometimes prescribed to restore proper levels of neurochemicals and to help people relax.2 For some people, medication can create necessary biological changes so they can then confront and work through existential anxieties.
Lifestyle Changes
Making lifestyle changes can help existential anxiety. When we lack purpose, meaningful relationships, for example, identifying them and taking necessary steps to change them can work wonders in improving quality of life. This might include making a career change to find something more meaningful, seeking out new relationships, or finding a way to positively contribute to your community.6
Who Should I Consult for Help With Existential Anxiety?
Consulting with others for help with existential anxiety can feel daunting when you don’t know where to begin. It can be helpful to start with people you know. Confide in a trusted friend or loved one. Sometimes, having a supportive, listening ear and sharing mutual concerns can go a long way in easing your big concerns (remember that everyone experiences this, so your connections might have valuable insights, and you might have valuable insights for them, too).
Also, as mentioned above, therapy, either individual or group, can be beneficial for existential therapy.
How to Find a Therapist
To find a therapist, ask people you know for recommendations. Others in your life may have seen or currently see a therapist, and they might be able to share their impressions with you. You can also ask your primary doctor for recommendations. Doctors often refer patients to mental health specialists, and they might know of therapists who specialize in anxiety that are a good fit for you. Online directories can be helpful, too, in providing lists of therapists in your area.
Additional Resources
For additional information on existential anxiety, visit these helpful resources:
- Zur Institute: Existential Psychology
- Existential-Humanistic Institute
- Viktor Frankl Institute of America
- Online Therapist Directory: Sort therapists by specialty, cost, availability and more. Watch intro videos and see articles written by the therapists you’re considering working with. When you’ve found a good match, book an online therapy appointment with them directly.
Are you ready to connect with a therapist but feel a little overwhelmed by all your options? Speak with one of Choosing Therapy’s Client Navigators. Client Navigators are mental health professionals who will listen to what you’re looking for in a therapist and help pair you with the best possible fit. Getting started is free, easy, and confidential.
