Coping with existential anxiety: the search for meaning

Existential anxiety is a form of distress that arises from a confrontation with the fundamental questions of human existence, such as freedom, responsibility, death, isolation, and the search for meaning or purpose in life.

Although it can be a deeply uncomfortable experience, it can also be a catalyst for personal growth and building a more authentic life.

Nature of Existential Anxiety

This type of anxiety does not focus on specific threats or social situations, but rather on the "ultimate realities" of the human condition.

It may manifest as a sense of emptiness, a perception that life lacks inherent meaning, a fear of one's own finitude, anxiety about freedom of choice and responsibility for one's decisions, or a feeling of being fundamentally alone in the universe.

Often, existential anxiety emerges at times of life transition, personal crises, significant losses, or when confronting one's limits and mortality.

The Search Meaning as a Response

One of the primary antidotes to existential anxiety is the active search for and creation of meaning and purpose in life.

While the universe may not offer us predetermined meaning, as human beings we have the ability to construct it through our values, choices, and actions.

Viktor Frankl's logotherapy, for example, focuses on this "will to meaning" as the primary human motivation.

Meaning can be found in:

• Creation and Work: Completing a work, dedicating oneself to a task or project that is perceived as worthwhile.

• Love and Relationships: Experiencing love and deep connection with other human beings.

• The Attitude to Inevitable Suffering: Finding meaning in the way one deals with suffering that cannot be avoided.

• Contribution to Something Bigger: Serving a cause, the community, or values that transcend the individual self.

Strategies for Coping with Existential Anxiety

Values Clarification: Identifying what truly matters and gives meaning to one's life.

Commitment to Valuable Action: Maki