existential crisis

existential crisis, a period of inner conflict during which a person is distraught over questions about identity, meaning, and purpose.

Characteristics

Although the defining characteristics of an existential crisis vary among psychologists, most agree that it is at heart a period of anxiety and conflict about purpose and life’s meaning. Some psychologists focus on the existential crisis as a question of identity and whom a person wants to be. Others say it revolves around feelings of responsibility and commitment versus independence and freedom. Many say it is a confrontation with realizations about existential realities such as death. An existential conflict is often considered to be related to spirituality, as many people find meaning in spiritual practice.

Psychologists have outlined distinct emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components of an existential crisis. The emotional part may include such feelings as despair, helplessness, guilt, fear, anxiety, and loneliness. The cognitive part may include thoughts about a lack of meaning and purpose, death, and indecision. The behavioral part may include inaction, conduct resulting in the loss of relationships, addictive behaviours, and seeking some kind of therapy.

Because an existential crisis extends over a prolonged period with distraught feelings, it can be difficult to distinguish from depression, and in fact these two conditions may overlap. Major depression, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), includes similar symptoms, such as anxiety and despair, but they last longer and cause significant disturbance in one’s ability to function in life. The relationship between existential crises and depression may in fact be causal. Psychologists are particularly interested in how certain types of situational depression relate to existential crises, as this relationship can help determine which treatment is most effective.

Triggers and examples

Existential crises occur at periods of transition throughout life. Several critical periods have been identified as likely to trigger an existential crisis. An “early teenage crisis” is concerned with defining oneself as independent from caretakers. A “sophomore crisis,” which can occur in the late teens or early twenties, focuses on establishing an identity through career, relationships, and how one finds meaning. An “adult crisis,” which can occur in the late twenties, centres on questions about career but also on life-building factors, such as religion and independence. A “midlife crisis” relates to aging and a realization of being trapped in restrictive roles. Finally, a “later crisis,” which can be triggered by a life transition or an illness, focuses on questions of legacy and achievement. Health care workers are especially interested in how to resolve existential crises that arise with disease when death is a concern or with a life-altering illness that brings up major questions of identity, such as schizophrenia.

Outcomes

Psychologists note that resolving an existential crisis can bring great meaning to a person’s life, and in fact an existential crisis can be an opportunity that pushes a person to find purpose and value in life. However, failing to resolve an existential crisis can have serious health consequences, such as depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. Several health care professionals have written about the connection between feeling that life is meaningless in an existential crisis and suicide. Resolving existential thoughts and feelings is thought to be an important part of recovery from suicidal ideation.

Solutions

Psychologists think that finding meaning and purpose is the way out of an existential crisis. This can be achieved in a variety of ways for different people and situations. Some note that finding meaning requires a more individual search in modern society than it does in traditional societies, since traditional societal patterns of meaning are not shared as widely in modern society. Generally, cognitive behavioral therapy is considered an effective way to address an existential crisis. Also, connecting meaningfully with other people can lead to recovery from an existential crisis. One study even found that addressing the components of an existential crisis through such methods as narrative discussion of existential topics improved outcomes in depression treatment.

Existential crisis at a societal level

The existential crisis is thought to be a modern phenomenon that may be related to both the abundance of life choices available and a societal decline in shared traditional systems of value and meaning. Lacking such a system to guide one in choosing among various options can bring on an internal struggle—an “agony of choice.” Psychologists point out that this situation allows people to apply meaning to each facet of their lives, including work and other activities, which is a privilege not available to everyone. The concept of existential crisis is often applied at a societal or institutional level, as the need for meaning and purpose in understanding one’s existence as an individual can be mirrored at that level.