What is existentialism and what does an existential view of the world mean? Existential approach in philosophy of life

Concept of existential crisis

An existential crisis is a phenomenon when a person begins to become depressed due to the fact that he perceives life as a meaningless waste of time (existence is translated as “existence”). This phenomenon often coincides with a midlife crisis. Main features of a critical situation:

• A person parts with old ideals, but cannot find new ones;
• There is a desire to completely change your life, to start it from scratch before it’s too late;
• What previously made a person happy now loses all meaning;
• The individual begins to think about what will happen to him after death or in the distant future (for example, in old age).

For people constantly engaged in hard physical labor and tired of the daily struggle for survival, this condition is uncharacteristic. It appears only if the individual has a lot of free time to think about the meaning of existence. Most often, the crisis overtakes creative people, mental workers or wealthy unemployed housewives, especially after children grow up.

Interesting. As a rule, this phenomenon is typical for people living in economically developed countries. There is an interesting pattern: the richer and more prosperous a person is, the more often he begins to think about the meaning of existence.

Advice from psychologists

A professional psychologist will not give correspondence advice without listening to the client and understanding his individual situation. At the same time, there are general approaches to overcoming the crisis of the absurdity of existence.

There are three leading ways to deal with the consequences of the crisis:

• Isolation
  . Intentional withdrawal, detachment from disturbing thoughts and emotions. There is an opinion that idle people, people who do not value their time and life, overreflect on the meaning of life. If the reasoning is controversial, there is a sound grain in it - get busy with ordinary things and there will be no strength left for suffering.
• Fixation
  is the ability to accept the fundamentals of the universe, the cyclical nature of nature and all living things, the principle of “life-death-life.” Yes, the world is not fair, but we live in given conditions and must adapt to them.
• Sublimation
  . With this method, the negative energies of fear, anger, aggression are directed towards positive creative things - love and creativity.

Thus, V. Frankl assured that the meaning of life can be understood through a sense of the values ​​of existence, creativity, awareness and acceptance of circumstances that we cannot change. A crisis is considered overcome (and this is its task) when a person reaches a new level, realizes his purpose, and leads a decent, beautiful and harmonious life.

It is very important to understand that an existential crisis overtakes almost every person, and more than once during his life. This is an occasion to analyze your thoughts, feelings and actions and an opportunity to begin a new era of your existence.

Existential human problems

According to famous European philosophers, the main existential problems of man are:

• Fear of death;
• Fear of loneliness;
• Guilt;
• A feeling of helplessness (a person feels like a grain of sand against the backdrop of the vast Universe).

Rumination about these problems is one of the most characteristic symptoms of a crisis. The main thing is that a person does not get stuck at this stage, but finds the strength to move and develop further. Only in this case can we talk about overcoming the crisis.

Loneliness

In the philosophical direction of existentialism, a crisis is, first of all, a difficult, painful experience of man’s loneliness in the Universe. The death of relatives or a long separation from them, the departure of children from the parental nest, the betrayal of friends - all this gradually leads the individual to the idea that he is alone in this huge world and is truly not needed by anyone. This means loneliness is a reason for depression.

The fear of existential conflict is, first of all, the fear of death. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that in modern society, unlike in ancient times, it is not customary to openly talk about the transition to another world. This topic is not discussed in conversations; death is considered not a natural process, but something bad and terrible. Therefore, a person gripped by a crisis begins to fear leaving life, and sometimes even experiences anxiety and panic at any mention of death.

A constant companion to a critical state caused by the search for the meaning of life is a feeling of guilt for missed opportunities and years that were lived in vain. During this period, a person begins to experience his past defeats and failures especially acutely. He realizes that he could have done a lot of useful things, but for some reason he didn’t.

The desire for self-development is a natural survival mechanism, since without it the human race would never have reached the current level of development. The problem is the obstacles that lie in wait on this path; one of the obstacles is often an existential crisis, formed from contradictions within the individual. A neurosis-like state appears when there is no need to worry about the minimal needs of existence.

The desire to argue for their own existence appears in most subjects, but for some, the arguments turn out to be primitive and complex due to deep religiosity or embedded “instructions” of a different order.

Existential problems arise at the moment of disappointment in previously chosen ideals. The individual ceases to feel satisfaction from the growth of status or loses faith in the unprecedented value of his own existence. Another reason for such experiences may be a feeling of the inevitability of death. Sometimes it may seem as if such thoughts only come to the minds of those with a lot of free time, since hard-working individuals need to solve many pressing problems every day and all their strength goes towards survival.

– loss of a loved one;

– use of psychedelics;

– a threat to one’s own existence;

– prolonged isolation;

– separation from children, loved ones.

In the course of existential reflection, the individual has to face the confrontation generated by the feeling of the significance of his own existence and the simultaneous understanding of its futility. The inability to find a solution to the current situation is transformed into existential despondency, which is characterized by a loss of interest in one’s own future.

The escalation of a crisis often provokes a desire to end one’s supposedly meaningless existence. Because it doesn't seem to be able to do any good. When an individual is faced with such a contradiction, it is incredibly difficult for him to resolve the problematic situation on his own.

1. In the existential understanding, anxiety refers to the universal ontological characteristics of a person. According to M. Heidegger, anxiety indicates what really exists - freedom, the inevitability of death and fundamental loneliness. Paul Tillich, in turn, identified three areas in which non-existence threatens human existence and, accordingly, three types of existential anxiety: - anxiety of fate and death, - anxiety of emptiness and loss of meaning, - anxiety of guilt and condemnation.
2. P. Tillich writes: “ Fate could not be a source of inevitable anxiety if death were not hidden behind it. And death stands behind fate and its accidents, not only at the very last moment, when we are thrown out of existence, but at every moment of existence. Non-existence is omnipresent, it generates anxiety even where there is no immediate threat of death. Non-existence lies behind our experience in which we perceive that we, like all things, are drawn from the past to the future, and every moment of time disappears forever. Non-existence lies behind the insecurity and homelessness of our social and individual existence. Non-existence is behind the blows that weakness, illness and accidents deal to our bodily and mental strength of being. Fate is actualized in all these forms, and through them the anxiety of non-existence takes possession of us. We try to turn anxiety into fear and courageously face objects that pose a threat. Sometimes we succeed, but we realize that it is not the objects with which we are struggling that give rise to anxiety, but the human situation as such .”
3. The second type of anxiety, according to Tillich, anxiety of emptiness and lack of meaning, is caused by the fact that non-existence also threatens a person’s spiritual self-affirmation. Spiritual self-affirmation is associated with creative perception and transformation of reality. Anxiety is necessary for a person’s spiritual life, since for those who are able to “hear” their states, it can serve as an obvious signal that not everything is in order in life. R. May defines anxiety as “fear that sends a signal about a threat to the values ​​that a person considers essential in his life.” If spiritual life is not characterized by the experience of creativity (in the broad sense) and participation, then it is threatened by non-existence. A threat to spiritual existence is a threat to the entirety of human existence. The anxiety of lack of meaning is the anxiety about the loss of ultimate interest, the loss of the meaning of existence.
4. P. Tillich writes that a person is obliged to answer the question of what he has made of himself. The one who asks him this question is his judge: this judge is himself, who at the same time opposes him. This situation gives rise to anxiety, which in a relative sense is the anxiety of guilt, and in the absolute sense is the anxiety of self-rejection and condemnation. Existential anxiety, or Angst, is that basic feeling of awkwardness or pain, writes E. van Dorzen, that people experience when they are aware of themselves. It is a feeling that brings together self-awareness and awareness of one's own vulnerability when faced with the possibility of one's own death. This same feeling is also an indispensable condition for being and finding oneself. R. Kociunas writes about the sources of existential anxiety in the life of every person. In addition to the awareness of the finitude of life, he highlights: 1. The exercise of freedom through constant choice between different possibilities without guarantees of its correctness and success. 2. Lack of a holistic and definable self due to its constant formation.
5. Anxiety, therefore, can also be an indicator of a person’s level of self-awareness. Ultimately, this self-awareness is, in essence, the realization of the basic freedom that a person has. Undoubtedly, to be or not to be is the most fundamental human question, and to ask oneself it is to plunge oneself into an experience of anxiety. For those people who try to eliminate the awareness of such a fundamental choice, life gives an acute anxiety that comes regardless of whether anything threatens their basic security or not. Those who choose to live in awareness of the fundamental choice are assured of a daily struggle with anxiety. They are clearly aware that life is based on death, and that they will continue to live only as long as they create and protect their existence. If people perceive their life choices consciously, then experiencing existential anxiety is inevitable . (E.van Dorzen)

Fear and anxiety
Fear is the expectation of something specific, anxiety is the vague, but situational, “one-time”, and “Angst” is the expectation of the constant presence of unforeseen events in life. Dm. Leontyev

We clearly feel anxiety in situations of threat to life (for example, a serious illness), situations of loss of freedom, meaning (retirement) or in situations of threat to our values ​​(for example, love - the loss of a loved one, or success - the collapse of a career, etc. ).

Through everyday anxieties and fears we “hear” the anxiety of existence, which “speaks” to us about death. Here the words of Adrian van Kam come to mind: “... a person dies at every moment of his existence. Life is a journey towards death. Parting with things, becoming different, a person dies. One must master the art of dying every day ."

An existential understanding of anxiety makes the distinction between anxiety and fear clear. The difference is not in the qualitative expression or the degree of intensity of the state, but in the nature of the experience of threat . Anxiety always affects the core of the self; it is reflected in the experience of the security of one’s existence. Fear is a materialization, an objective expression of anxiety; this is objectified anxiety. Fear can be viewed from the outside; it threatens the periphery of human existence. The obviousness of the object of fear can help to avoid it, while it is impossible to avoid anxiety.

The same E. van Dortzen says: “A human being can spend a lot of energy trying to fix what cannot be fixed , and establishing safety where danger will inevitably reappear.”

So, in the existential tradition, anxiety is not viewed as a pathological state. Although, we understand that its objectlessness, uncertainty, paralyzing purposeful activity, power can cause a variety of mental and psychosomatic symptoms. It is not a condition that must be eliminated by any means, but rather inevitable mode of human existence.

Kinds

There are normal (existential) and neurotic anxiety. Normal anxiety is generated by life itself, its events and crises (for example, separation from the parental family, choosing a profession, starting a family, professional and career growth, the threat of losing loved ones, anxiety about one’s own health and life, etc.). Its manifestation corresponds to the objective characteristics of life situations and threats.

Neurotic anxiety is characterized by a discrepancy between the nature of life situations and the degree of stress they cause. Such anxiety makes a person passive, suppresses the ability of awareness, causes psychosomatic symptoms and painful mental states.

It is almost impossible to identify clear criteria for separating normal and neurotic anxiety. A conditional boundary can only be drawn in the mental space of a particular person, taking into account his emotional reactivity, general level of anxiety, characteristics of response strategies, etc.

Anxiety Rescue

There are two main ways of escaping the existential anxiety generated by the basic vulnerability of the human condition.

The first consists of a complete rejection of life (defeatism) . It can be realized through suicide, or through a gradual departure from existence. When people realize the great effort and risk involved in living an active life, they believe that it is not a life worth striving for. This usually happens when they have little hope of winning through their efforts and risk. Phasing out and withdrawing from life can lead to drug addiction, alcoholism, and other forms of withdrawal. Ultimately, these strategies lead to isolation and dissolution. Those who follow this road usually end up completely immersed in the abyss of despair, which brings madness and collapse in life.

“Some people succeed in maintaining a worry-free state, moving mechanically from one daily task to another. They pretend that such a Movement is life, that this life has made them what they are, and that nothing can be changed about it. When there is no opinion, there is no anxiety,” writes E. van Dorzen.

S. Muddy calls such a non-choice the choice of the past, the choice of maintaining the status quo - this is the choice of avoiding awareness, the choice of trying to preserve, which still cannot ultimately lead to success.

Meaningless, unconscious immersion in existence can only drown out anxiety for a short time. If you live as if you are a certain object, solid and with a predetermined fate, then the appearance of existential anxiety can only be postponed until this pseudo-certainty proves its falsity in practice.

In the article “On the importance of the fear of death for personality development,” S. Maddi notes that in life, in addition to real situations of death, we have to deal with many “small deaths . Death, in a sense, is all those cases when something ceases to exist suddenly and undesirably for us, when some significant relationships suddenly cease, when some events or affairs unexpectedly cease, not necessarily related to the death of a person. The most typical example is unhappy love, a breakup. This experience turns out to be much like the experience of death. It is in such “small deaths,” says S. Maddi, that, first of all, a person’s attitude to life in general, his philosophy of life, is worked out .

Existential guilt is often experienced by people who feel that they are hiding from the existential angst of being by doing something that gives them temporary respite but which they feel is essentially false. This can manifest itself as boredom , when nothing bad has been done, but nothing good has been done in order to face life's challenges with dignity. This type of escape from being leads to an intense experience of meaninglessness.

The second way to avoid anxiety is to perceive life as if there was no choice at all (fatalism) . Existential anxiety is born from the awareness of the human capacity to actively participate in existence. Choice and responsibility are the deepest roots of all anxiety. Thus, you can avoid anxiety if you begin to believe that there is no choice or responsibility in principle. This is the path of self-deception, or lack of faith.

People can live as if their lives are completely predetermined, and thus exclude their responsibility (conformism) . They imagine that they are safe because they are Ivanovs, and have successfully settled down with a place to live and a family, or because they are taxi drivers, or postmen, or personal assistants, or dentists. Their lives are organized around many habits and standard patterns, which they consider to be life itself. And although they long to feel the taste of freedom, their lives will be jeopardized by the mere thought of giving up this regularity of “nine to six” and getting out of the rut once and for all. Their cautious excursions into freedom called vacations or weekends are usually no less organized and limited by their own expectations associated with the self-image they have created for themselves. These are significant people living significant lives, protecting themselves from the dangers of reality with a protective cap. They realize that choosing freedom means choosing anxiety, and therefore choose duty.

This strategy works because the culture, the product of this attitude, has an extensive network of shared illusions and realities that support the individual in such a game. Such a strategy fails when the person loses his safe place and finds that this system is radically unable to protect him from his own inner emptiness, to protect him from life and death. This happens sooner or later to every person. Existence is rarely so well organized that a person can overcome all the hardships of life. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job or a fortune that a person has become accustomed to considering as an integral part of his life - all this can destroy his protective cap.

When this happens, panic often sets in because there seems to be nothing left to live for. The illusion goes away, and with it the inner strength of the Self goes away, which at once loses its significance and falls into depression. People compare themselves to an empty shell or say they don't feel like themselves anymore. They find it almost impossible to get used to the feeling of emptiness that they have so happily avoided until now. Sometimes the system provides them with new ways to protect themselves. However, more often people are faced with a life crisis, not being able to retreat to the boundaries of already prepared solutions. When people are faced with the fact that they can no longer maintain the illusion of security, they become ill or seek help in some other way. They may even resort to choosing the “life outside of being” strategy described above. In other words, a strategy that consists of pretending that a person is protected and that he has no choice in life is not necessarily any better than a strategy of leaving.

Taylor's research revealed that the majority of healthy adults are in so-called positive illusions about themselves, other people and the world in general. We may not realize it at all, but we usually live in the illusion of our own invulnerability and control over the outside world, and also adhere to an attitude of unrealistic optimism. In turn, a person who has experienced deep psychological trauma develops completely different, destructive beliefs about himself and about life. Compare:

• “There is much more good in this world than bad” - “Life is not fair.”
• “If something bad happens, it happens mainly to those people who do something wrong” - “The world is dangerous, and I am alone, no one can help me.”
• “I am a good person, therefore, I can feel protected from harm” - “I am not good enough for this life, I am not valuable and insignificant.”
• “Nothing bad can happen to me” - “Life is not worth living long.”

Therapy

The primary task when faced with a client’s anxiety in existential therapy is to help him become better acquainted with his condition, understand it and reveal the meaning of anxiety.

Once people become aware of the choices in which life involves them, they are doomed to experience anxiety. And that's okay.

Once the awareness of the basic lack of essence and security of the human condition comes, the person again comes to the experience of pure existence, which gives rise to anxiety.

The choice of the future, the choice of the unknown and the anxiety that accompanies orientation to the future, creates certain potential and prospects for personal development.

“Anxiety is not only an enemy, but also a teacher: it can show the way to an authentic existence.” I. Yalom.

Anxiety is not only a manifestation of a person's weakness, but also his potential strength if he learns to accept it as an integral part of life. Existential therapy does not set itself the goal of making the client's life safer or easier. Rather, she strives to help better prepare to face constantly emerging difficulties, to be more courageous and courageous in accepting the endless challenges of life.

The existential approach does not try to eliminate anxiety, but rather encourages people to face it . Treating people for their ability to worry can be a cure for life itself. And the task is not to suppress, mask or deny anxiety, but to understand its meaning and gain strength in order to live constructively while experiencing it. The courage needed to live comes only when the possibility of death is faced with determination. Existential therapy aims to help people find this courage. And therefore, it begins with having the courage to bring all worries to the surface and look at life directly. Anxiety provides all the necessary resources that are enough to face your responsibility.

The role of existential counseling and therapy, in this case, is to help people come to terms with the risks and anxieties that accompany active being, and stop dying from the despair that comes with passive abandonment of it all. In such cases, rigid logic can be much more useful than understanding and support. Once the options become completely clear to them, life in struggle, with all its injustice and threats, becomes the only alternative to the strategy of avoidance, which brings only death and despair.

“For a moment he seemed to rise above the accidents of his existence and felt that neither happiness nor grief could ever influence him as before. Everything that happens to him next will only weave a new thread into the complex pattern of his life, and when the end comes, he will rejoice that the pattern is close to completion. It will be a work of art, and it will not become less beautiful because he alone knows about its existence, and with his death it will disappear.” S. Maugham.

Reasons why it occurs

The main cause of the crisis is existential conflict. It can take different forms. As a rule, the following traumatic situations can act as a provocateur:

• Serious illness or injury;
• Illness or death of a loved one;
• Children growing up and leaving their parents' home;
• Conflict situation at work;
• Demotion or early retirement.

In some cases, the problem is aggravated by the use of psychoactive substances or alcohol. There are known cases when creative people, gripped by an existential crisis, literally became drunk before our eyes. Also, a personal crisis experienced by one of the partners, in severe cases, can lead to the breakup of a family or the separation of a guy from a girl.

Crisis manifests itself differently for different people.

Causes

According to psychoanalysts, as well as specialists in other psychotherapeutic areas, the cause of phobias may be early childhood trauma, which over time is repressed into the unconscious and forgotten, or obvious and actualized in the present tense.

Predisposing factors in the occurrence of phobias are:

• increased anxiety, suspiciousness, low self-esteem, increased demands on oneself, as well as dependent personality traits;
• the presence of stress, crisis (divorce, illness, death of a loved one) and disruption of the usual work and rest schedule;
• lack of sources of emotional support.

Existential loneliness

In addition to realizing personal uniqueness in the Universe, humanity needs to realize that each subject always remains alone. Because no human subject is capable of feeling what another individual feels. And it doesn’t matter whether a person is surrounded by thousands of his own kind, merges in ecstasy with a partner, or is locked within four walls with himself alone.

Inevitable existential loneliness implies that the existence of human individuals is predetermined by his individually unique sensations and thoughts, inaccessible to other subjects.

Understanding existential loneliness can bring an individual both absolute freedom and slavery, and can become a generator of unprecedented strength or sources of great problems. This is due to individual choice. At the same time, it is impossible to avoid the state of loneliness. And only in the power of the individual himself to transform him into independence and force him to work for him.

Existential loneliness is, first of all, caused by the correlation of one’s own personality with nature, the perception of oneself as a holistic reality. If this need is not satisfied, then a feeling of loneliness arises, expressed by longing for the Fatherland, interaction with nature. The described type of loneliness will not disappear in communication with one’s own kind, but will only be temporarily muffled, since the reasons for its occurrence live outside the circle of human communications.

Individuals have a strong need to connect with the mystical and God. In the absence of its satisfaction, the characteristic experience of loneliness arises. This factor is fundamental in the formation of various sects and in the emergence of religious fanaticism.

For some subjects, the need to feel and realize their own uniqueness often remains unsatisfied. An individual experiencing self-isolation understands that the one-sided development of his own “I” neutralizes the formation of other aspects, as a result of which he feels uncomfortable. This variation of loneliness is expressed in the form of an orientation toward the “True Self.”

Cultural loneliness is expressed in the experience of detachment from cultural heritage, which was previously a significant part of existence. More often it manifests itself as a break with previous value guidelines, which is an important element in teenage life.

Social loneliness is much more common. It is associated with the interaction of the individual and the team. Social loneliness arises in exile, rejection by the collective, rejection by the group.

The individual feels his own rejection, that he was excluded, rejected, not appreciated. The feeling of rejection by society, of one’s own uselessness, more often arises in subjects who were unable to occupy a certain place in society. Such individuals are characterized by anxiety about their own social status and anxiety about social identity.

Subjects who need socially significant involvement are more likely to suffer from this type of loneliness. These are old people, teenagers, low-income people, eccentric people, women. It is precisely because of the fear of social loneliness that people actively join the team and participate in social activities.

Another variation of social loneliness arises when the human subject is perceived only as a role. Along with the type of loneliness described above, there is usually interpersonal loneliness. However, it is due to rejection or rejection by a specific person.

Individuals experiencing all of the above types of loneliness suffer from a personality disorder - anomia. An anomic individual is characterized by a rejection of his own person and environment, or a tendency to carry out actions under external control, attributing responsibility for the path of life to fate.

An anomic individual often feels as if he exists without reference points in free (empty) space. People get tired of this kind of existence. As a result, existence loses value, and suicidal attempts are not uncommon. Such individuals are unable to fight on their own with the painful experiences of loneliness.

Existential state and its symptoms

The emotional state of a person in crisis is characterized by psychological discomfort and instability. In this case, there is no need to talk about a harmoniously developed, peaceful personality.

Let us highlight the main symptoms of the emotional picture during existence:

• Dejection and apathy
  . We do not want and cannot take ordinary actions, we need emotional support, we complain to loved ones about our failed life. It is often impossible to carry out ordinary and necessary actions, for example, cleaning the apartment and cooking. Everything seems unnecessary and meaningless.
• Lack of joy from events that previously delighted
  . A long-awaited vacation at sea, when tickets have been purchased and a new swimsuit has been purchased in advance, seems uninteresting and pointless.
• A sharp change in sleep patterns and quality
  . We either sleep poorly, scrolling through tons of thoughts in our heads, or we sleep much more than usual, but do not feel alert. There are numerous awakenings in the middle of the night.
• Low self-esteem
  . All life achievements are leveled out, and failures, on the contrary, come to the fore. Any harmless statements from relatives or colleagues are perceived as caustic remarks that degrade one’s dignity. A person is often offended and suspicious.
• Sudden and frequent changes in mood
  . Bursts of joy are instantly replaced by tearfulness. Please note that such manifestations may be associated with diseases of the thyroid gland, and you should undergo a medical examination.
• Regularly comparing yourself to other people, and not in your favor
  . It seems that everyone around us lives better, has achieved more, and looks more interesting. We only need to compare ourselves with ourselves in the past, to see where we started and where we have come to.
• Difficulty concentrating, focusing on one action
  . This is psychological burnout syndrome. When a person is on the rise, he solves complex problems with ease.
• Changes in diet and appetite
  . Problems arise both by giving up previously loved foods and by eating too much. Accordingly, a sharp change in weight occurs.
• The desire to leave your life and go “wherever your eyes look
  . So we want to get rid of everything we have, believing that a new life will bring relief.
• Increased feelings of guilt, which psychologists consider aggression directed against oneself
  . A mature person is confident in himself, even when he commits unseemly acts, he tries to correct and forget them. A person in crisis often considers himself to blame and asks for forgiveness without any reason.

The most significant sign of existentialism is the loss of the ability to dream and make plans. Any dream moves us towards a goal, encourages us to take active action, giving us joy and hope.

In a crisis, desires are minimized and sexual desire (libido) decreases. Indeed, if there is no meaning in life, why bake pies, wash floors, love, dress up? Everything is meaningless.

Existential fear

Often, fears of an existential nature are considered a separate type of fear, not caused by a specific life event, but more related to the inner essence of the human subject. As a result, existential fears have a number of specifics and are inherent in all people, but they lurk in the depths of the subconscious and therefore are often not recognized by a person.

– fear of old age, death, in other words, fear of the unknown of the future;

– spatial fears can take various forms: fear of closed or open space, darkness, depth;

– misunderstanding of oneself and fear of one’s own personality, fear of one’s thoughts, insanity, manifestations of personality traits, possible actions, fear of losing control over one’s own person;

– fear of life, manifests itself in fear of the unknowability of life: fear of the inexplicable, mysterious, enigmatic, meaninglessness of existence.

Some authors identify another group of existential fears – fear of order and fear of its absence. This variation of fears can be expressed by an obsessive desire to establish forever a certain way of life, a way of life. At the same time, such subjects are afraid of novelty: a change of job, place of residence, starting relationships and disorder.

The described type of people usually finds themselves in an area where a clear routine, routine, and punctuality are important. Or, on the contrary, it is revealed in the desire to destroy the predetermination of existence, stereotypical behavior, which leads to the emergence of fear due to the need to follow a clearly established order (more often such individuals find themselves in creativity). However, the fears described are inextricably linked with the fear of space, which is why they are often not classified as a separate subgroup.

Signs of a crisis

The main sign of the onset of an existential crisis is a person’s depressed state, which can manifest itself in different forms. The most common symptoms of critical illness in men and women are:

• Depression;
• The desire for social isolation of the individual;
• Loss of interest in what made a person happy before;
• Interest in mysticism and religion (characteristic of 85% of people experiencing a crisis).

It is known that large religious sects actively speculate on people seeking the meaning of life and in every possible way lure them into their networks. Therefore, during this period a person is especially at risk of becoming a victim of pseudo-gurus and “spiritual teachers.”

Existential despondency is a constant companion of a crisis state

Existential guilt

This phenomenon is an inevitable companion of human nature. Death inevitably follows birth. The basis of human existence is murder. Because for the sake of survival, people exterminate the animal world. Even vegetarians are no exception, as they kill plants. And by stopping to eat, a person will kill his own person, that is, commit suicide.

Guilt is an integral part of human existence. The difference between adequate guilt and neurotic guilt lies in the motivating factor. Neurotic guilt is based on imaginary offenses allegedly directed against the social environment, parental orders, and generally accepted social norms. Normal guilt is an appeal to conscience; simply put, it encourages individuals to attach great importance to the ethical aspects of their own behavior.

Existential guilt is considered a variation of guilt. There are three forms of it. The first is a consequence of the inability to live according to one’s own potential. For example, people feel guilty when they think they have harmed themselves. The second is based on a distortion of the reality of the individual’s comrades. People may believe that they have harmed loved ones or friends. The third is the “guilt of division”, the object of this variation of guilt is nature as a whole.

Existential guilt is universal. It is nested in self-awareness and does not represent the result of non-compliance with parental “directives”, but it follows from the view that the human subject can perceive himself as an individual who can make choices and cannot. Hence, the concept in question is inextricably linked with personal responsibility.

Guilt of an existential nature should not a priori be considered neurotic guilt, but it has the resource necessary for transformation into neurotic guilt. Moreover, if you correctly approach the variation of guilt under consideration, then it can benefit the human subject. It often contributes to the formation in individuals of the ability to reconcile with the world and sympathize with surrounding subjects, as well as the development of a creative resource.

Existential guilt towards one’s own person is a payment that an individual pays for the failure to realize one’s own destiny, for detachment from one’s own feelings, alienation of one’s own person from one’s thoughts and desires. Simply put, the concept described can be expressed as follows: “If an individual admits that he can change a certain trait or habit now, he will be forced to admit that he could have changed it a long time ago.

How to get out of an existential crisis

You can cope with the negative phenomena that accompany a crisis and overcome depression in the following ways:

• Just “throw out of your head” existential problems, switching to something more important;
• Learn to “live for today”, experiencing joy from every moment you live;
• Find yourself an interesting and easy-to-understand hobby, completely change your social circle, make new friends, find new sources of joy;
• See a psychotherapist to overcome depression.

If, during the process of experiencing a crisis, a person develops suicidal tendencies, one cannot do without the help of a specialist in psychology.

There are many methods to combat the disorder

The simplest and at the same time the most difficult way to cope with an existential crisis is to forget about the problems of human existence. But this method only works if you “fill” your head with other thoughts, preventing a spiritual vacuum from arising. One of the best options is to switch to charity or volunteer work, helping those who are really experiencing serious problems.

Attention! You can help a person only if he himself wants it. In no case should help be imposed if a man or woman, experiencing an existential crisis, wants to be alone. Also, don’t get annoyed when you don’t understand why a loved one has suddenly changed.

It is known that crisis situations are most difficult to overcome if a person is alone or socially isolated. Therefore, the best cure for the unpleasant phenomena that accompany an existential crisis is the support of family and friends who love, sympathize, and are ready to help. During this difficult period of overcoming depression, it is important for a person to communicate as often as possible with those who support and understand him.

What is existentialism?

This is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of human existence. It is a philosophy rooted in the subjective aspects of thinking, feeling, purpose and living on our own terms, free from the barriers of external thinking.

Existentialists believe that there is no fixed design or universal creator. They believe that meaning is found through accepting existence.

In essence, people are free and responsible for their lives. This is the philosophy of free will.

The philosophy of existentialism began in Europe with the New Thought movement and became popular through great thinkers such as Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and Kierkegaard.

They proposed that humans are independent, conscious beings capable of great things, without the labels, roles and restrictions that society places on us.

It is a philosophy of empowerment and independence. Through this philosophy and nihilism, Nietzsche suggested that this was the key to superhuman strength.