Existential crisis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An existential crisis is a state of panic or feeling of intense psychological discomfort around questions of existence. It is more common in cultures where basic survival needs have been overcome.
It can result from:
- A sense of being alone and isolated
- The realization of one's own mortality, or the belief that there is no afterlife
- A realization that one's life has no destined, supernatural, or in some cases external purpose or meaning
It is quite similar to the sociological concept of anomie. It has also been likened to a mid-life crisis. The implication of an existential crisis is that the crisis itself stems from some sort of existential realization or understanding.
In non-existential belief systems the essence of what it means to be human is largely held to have been predefined before birth, usually by some sort of supernatural being or group of beings. A certain lack of faith in such belief systems is typically a prerequisite for an existential crisis. Basically, an existential crisis is the sudden awareness of not knowing what one's life is all about and or the sudden awareness of one's inevitable impending personal doom.
Most people do not bother with questioning or pondering that can lead to such a crisis, having repressed the knowledge of their upcoming death. Those who are not in a state of existential crisis can peacefully accept that either:
- The essence of their existence has already been defined by some sort of higher power.
- That which is important to them is all that needs to matter.
- Their life in fact has no meaning.
One who is experiencing an existential crisis cannot accept these views. Instead, that person is faced with the paradox of believing that their life is important on the one hand while at the same time perceiving that human existence itself is without meaning or purpose. It is the resolution of this paradox which dissolves the crisis. A typical solution to resolving the paradox is a belief in some sort of a supernatural explanation through religion; others hold that an individual can define for himself what his own meaning and purpose is on this planet. There are more ways and variations on how to handle an existential crisis, however. One may decide, for instance, that thought is pointless and existential truth or security cannot be obtained through it. Others may decide that it is not important to know what happens or how things work, all that is important is the present. Others may decide that being happy is the pursuit of life and strive to increase their knowledge base to accomplish this.
In a worst-case scenario the failure to resolve an existential crisis can lead to death by suicide or complete apathy to one's life.
Existential crises are sometimes triggered by a significant event or change in a person's life. Usually the event in some way makes the person reflect on his or her own mortality, revealing the repression. Typical examples of such events are the death of a loved one, a life-threatening experience, one's children moving away from home, reaching a certain age, or a length of time in solitary confinement.
