Existential Angst – Breakdown or Breakthrough?
Existential angst is the name given to the awareness (through lived experience) of one’s existential condition. One who experiences existential angst comes face to face with the existential limits of their existence. For example, through the experience of eg. uncertainty, meaninglessness or endings or death, the resultant anxiety reflects their aloneness in making sense of their existence. As each of us proceed through our lives, we are bombarded with challenges to the fixed ways in which we define ourselves and our worlds. The unpredictable nature of others’ behaviour or our own challenges us to embrace the co-constructed nature of our phenomenal selves. We can either choose to resist through unrelenting attempts to restore the status quo or we can choose to see ourselves as ‘works in progress’.
Resisting the existential nature of our existence can lead to breakdown whereas embracing the anxiety of our unfixed selves offers breakthrough to a life well lived.
Similar Posts:
We find outselves in a situation where there is little control and less motivation to effect change.
Resisting and embracing.
Easy words to say – but what does this actually mean in daily moment-by-moment existence? What is the action to take? What are the thoughts to think and not think?
It can be very challenging in our day to day experience of life to stand ‘in the fire’ and consider existential realities such as aloneness, nothingness and existential anxiety. Certainly the reality of facing these existential givens can be a deeply painful process. There is however something very liberating when we take a philosophical perspective on life – embracing that all of our experiences contribute to our lives – not just the pleasant ones. It is my experience, both personally and professionally with clients, that when we look back on painful or unpleasant times, these are the ones through which we grow the most. Through them, we have the experience of re-defining our values and purpose in our life and can choose not to squander our precious time.