Do you often question the purpose of your life? Pondering over what life means to you? And what are your aims?

It is okay to think like that!

Most of us suffer through a phase in our life where we begin to doubt our very existence. That is called “Existential Crises”, we wonder what life means and what our purpose in life is as a whole. We develop a break in our thinking pattern wherein we are faced with life’s big question! Have you ever wondered why we do not face such a crisis in our childhood? It is because during our childhood things hardly matter to us; we do not dwell ourselves in deep thinking.

We all have this desire to exist for a reason; and here is where lies the beginning of our existential problems. According to various psychologists, there is no predetermined meaning to our lives nor there is any authority figure designing our lives. Life exists in itself and beyond itself and it is intrinsically meaningless. Whenever our sense of logic and reason confront this fact; that the nature of life and our self appears not to agree with the same order or reason, we can often find ourselves in existential crises.

Turn this negative into a positive side.

The term “existential crises” has its own roots in the philosophy of existentialism.  Existentialists view this whole subject matter differently than a psychiatrist and psychologists. They view anxiety as an inevitable part of human life, something that everyone will experience and is positive teaching us important lessons of our life. Existential philosophers do not see this as despairing rather as a reason for us to live. If we are not created with a purpose, we must ourselves create one to define our existence through our choices and actions. 

Such situations make us “deep thinkers” allowing us to self-talk with ourselves. Isn’t it great? Self-talk shall open up so many answers to you. Don’t be disturbed rather realize it as a good sign allowing you to reflect on your nature. Once we realize this is a good sign, our mind opens up and it is ready for further reflection.

Contemplations make you aware of who you are and one of the contemplations is looking at yourself; your nature. Take the palm of your hand and look at it with your mental eye which is like a microscope. What do you see? Skin and muscles right? Now increase the magnification and all you see is cells, neutrons, protons, and tiny cellular bodies. What you discover is a bundle of energy. It is the limitation of your eye that makes you feel small and inferior, nevertheless, if you put on your microscope, you see your nature full of energy. These contemplations help you overcome identity crises.

“You are energy and somebody next to you is too.”

Looking at nature with your telescope, you see a greater space system; the near universe. You need to keep expanding your consciousness and eventually you witness the merger of smallest and the biggest things. Use your physiology to change your psychology; go for a walk or a run. Your heart starts pumping and your mind starts diverting. I think breathing is the best alternative for such crises.  When you tie your mind to your breath, it does not wander around and is not hijacked. Secondly, changing your physiology of the body by movements would help you get control of your thoughts.

An existential crisis means that you are starting to find yourself, your true self. And if you follow that path to its conclusion, you’ll find that life is much simpler than what it was before, that your self is an illusion and much of what we give value to in life has little to no meaning; certainly not in the way we thought of as before. Even Elon Musk isn’t immune to an existential crisis (although he had his much earlier in life than most as a teenager—which probably shouldn’t be surprising). An existential crisis can help you “push off the bottom” with a blank canvas. Choosing to create purpose comes after this important turning point. You can turn your newfound awareness into action and have the rest of your life to create your masterpiece. 

THE ANXIETY OF CHOOSING PROPERLY.

With so many choices and options, how are we even supposed to decide?

 We all are free to make our own choices to make our life better or worse. Most of us would choose such freedom as opposed to others who won’t. However, such choices come with a responsibility of bearing the consequences of your own choices. How often do you have struggles while making a decision and are feared of being wrong? Such fears about making wrong choices cause anxiety leading to great despair. Existentialists are of the view that sadness and anxiety caused through such feelings exist because there is no right path and no guide to tell us what to do. 

With an existential crisis, the problem lies in getting satisfying answers to the questions. The lack of answers further triggers personal conflict from inside leading to frustration and chaos. Such a crisis can affect any person at any age, however, the only difference lies in the intensity. For example, a college student moving away from home or an adult going through a difficult divorce might feel as though their foundation of life is crumbling. For existentialists, such a crisis is considered a journey, an awareness, a necessary experience and a complicated process. This type of crisis is likely to follow despair or a major event like trauma or a loss. “Existential Crisis” is just an umbrella term that can be used to describe varied issues.

French Author and journalist, Albert Camus has argued that if you can stop giving an end to your life and start living for the act of being itself, then your life becomes fully integrated. Such a crisis may ask you to move towards authenticity which may also result in greater anxiety. Many people go through a sudden life changing event like marriage or divorce, retiring, graduations and many more; these stressful situations could also cause existential crises.

Existential-Humanistic Approach.

It seeks to offer people a greater awareness of how their emotions come together to form their experiences. It helps people to answer larger questions embedded behind depression, anxiety and other causes of mental angst and worries. Though this approach is not universally applicable; action-oriented people who want to know what to do to get over their insecurities and worries, do not really care about the root cause of the insecurities. This approach was introduced in the 1940s in the United States. It can be traced back to Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs pyramid.

“Whoever has learnt to be anxious in the right way, has learnt the ultimate.” Soren Kierkegaard (Danish Philosopher)

Combat Existential Crises.

Research shows we spend the vast majority of our modern lives indoors. Your mind is highly active during an existential crisis, but what about your body? Don’t neglect physical movement during this time. Even something as simple as a short walk outside can be a restorative break and take your mind off things.

 

REFRAME YOUR MINDSET.

You believe your life is meaningless? I agree it becomes hard to see through a positive mindset. But if you tell yourself that your life has no worth, you will manifest that into your own existence. So it is important to reframe your thoughts and mindset by doing things that add value to your life. You can join a club, volunteer or explore yourself.

MAINTAIN A JOURNAL.

This can be a great way to release your emotions out of your body and onto paper. You could create a negative and positive list of people, places and situations of your life. You can convert this into your gratitude journal in which you may realise that there are so many things you are thankful for.

ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

If you wonder what is your purpose in life? Becomes overwhelming and unmanageable. Instead break your questions down into smaller yet simpler versions. Ask yourself,”What should i do this weekend which will make me happy.?

IT IS OKAY TO BE IMPERFECT.

It is important to relieve yourself from the pressure of becoming perfect and having perfect answers to all your questions. Accepting the fact that you cannot know all can relieve you from stress.

MEDITATION. 

It will help you replace negative thoughts and prevent anxiety to go away.

SEEK PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT.

A counselor or a psychologist may be a safe space for you to talk through your existential crises and perhaps would give you the guidance to the right path. Existential therapy allows you to decide your own way of therapy and talk about problems that matter to you. Existential therapists help you build a plan to make your life more fulfilling, adding people and activities that can help you boost your mood.