5 Signs That You Are Going Through An Existential Crisis

An existential crisis is as emotionally intense as it is complicated to understand and even detect. For this reason, many people suffer the discomfort associated with this type of experience without being aware of what is happening to them, and assuming that they cannot do anything to improve their well-being.

In the following lines you will find a summary of the key ideas to know how to detect an existential crisis which is the first step to remedy it.

What does it mean to suffer an existential crisis?

Defining what an existential crisis is is complex, and in fact it is a task that has been a challenge for both philosophy and psychology. The reason for this is that it refers to our way of experiencing the most abstract (and therefore diffuse and changing) thoughts there are: those about the meaning of life. In short, an existential crisis is the discomfort we feel when noticing the absence of something that gives meaning and/or purpose to our existence

Part of what explains why we may feel this way has to do with our ability to think long-term, on the one hand, our awareness that our life will come to an end, on the other, and our predisposition to feel aversion to uncertainty. Since we can think long term and we know that we are mortal, we can think of our lives as a project with a beginning and an end, a chain of stages that lead to obtaining a result.

But, at the same time, we have no references for knowing what that project of our entire life, of our entire existence, should consist of and that produces intense uncertainty that goes hand in hand with anguish.

On the other hand, the concept of existential crisis is so complex that there are philosophers who have started from it to develop their ways of understanding the world. From existentialism, for example, authors such as Jean Paul-Sartre have come to defend the idea that human beings always live to a greater or lesser extent in an existential crisis, since The simple fact of existing does not go hand in hand with a specific purpose or reason for living something to which our actions naturally tend.

5 warning signs to identify an existential crisis

As we have seen, the existential crisis has to do with the lack of references to know what is the purpose or value of what we do, and of our lives in general. Therefore, this idea is often associated with the concept of nihilism, although it is not exactly the same.

The person who suffers an existential crisis (for example, by abandoning the religion in which he has been socialized and educated since childhood) notices a tension between the desire to notice that there is a genuine and valuable intention behind his actions, and the belief that at least at that moment, there isn’t. On the other hand, a nihilistic person does not have to want to find a meaning in his existence, he simply denies that there can be a “meaning in life” and other guiding principles of human existence, such as a universally valid morality.

So, Anyone going through an existential crisis wants to change this situation, or at least make it mitigated, but it is not always easy to recognize the source of the discomfort. Therefore, here we will review the main signs to identify an existential crisis, although they do not have to all appear in the same person.

1. You let others impose life references

Living an existential crisis also means adopt an attitude of passivity and conformity when deciding what to do Since there are no strong values ​​or ideas that guide one’s behavior, one acts by imitation and looking for the easiest way to adapt in the short term to the circumstances in which one lives.

2. You feel envious of those who seem committed to a cause

People going through an existential crisis experience a significant level of envy towards those who feel stimulated and highly involved in a project in which they participate, even if they do not sympathize with that person’s causes. That is to say, envy is not what they participate in, but the fact of being able to actively participate in something connecting with a series of values ​​and long-term purposes.

3. You suffer from a loneliness problem

Unsought loneliness is one of the most notable consequences of the existential crisis.

Even if you surround yourself with many people on a daily basis and have friendly relations with them, the lack of values ​​and a sense of purpose in life makes emotional connection with others complicated although the empathy is still there.

This occurs because the existential crisis makes us tend to introspect, to question aspects of our existence as individuals, and the social remains in the background.

4. It is almost impossible for you to visualize what your future will be

Given the lack of references about the meaning of life, The future becomes only a great unknown since we do not see ourselves climbing it through projects that talk about us and what we want.

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5. It is difficult for you to identify with your “I” from the past

Everything that interested you deeply before developing the existential crisis loses its meaning and that’s why, in retrospect, everything you did and thought was important to you starts to seem strange.

What to do to deal with this type of discomfort?

The best way to manage this unpleasant experience is to go to psychotherapy. Seeing a psychologist is not something that should be done only when we suspect that we have developed a mental disorder: it also Support is given to people who feel more diffuse, non-psychopathological forms of discomfort

In psychological therapy sessions, possible activities and projects capable of exciting the person are explored, studying their values, interests and predispositions. The aspects of daily life that may be feeding that feeling that nothing matters or is of interest are also identified. From there, an intervention program is launched based on new habits, ways of managing emotions, and questioning dysfunctional beliefs. In this way, a different way of living life gives rise to a new way of interpreting things and a richer and more nuanced way of appreciating life