The phrase “existential crisis” has become very popular in everyday life. Why is the philosophical scientific term nestled so comfortably in everyday speech? And what exactly is hidden behind this term? Intuitively, every person who uses this term understands that we are talking about eternal question"to be or not to be".
Existential crisis – anxiety personality, accompanied by thoughts about ( individual and in the broad sense of all humanity), man’s place in the universe. The individual is tormented by the questions “Who am I?” and “why do I live?”, “what do I want?”, “what is my purpose?”
The existential crisis is based on higher human, spiritual level. This is a sign. People also face a crisis of identity and the meaning of life (existential). In the first case, a person gets to know himself for the first time and is looking for a place in the world; in the second, there is a re-evaluation, rethinking of life and a new acquaintance with himself. In both cases, a crisis of the meaning and essence of life arises (from Latin existentia means “existence”).
Existential crisis - form personal crisis, therefore it is not necessarily due to age. The search for an answer to the question of the meaning of life is determined by the development of personality. But if the thought about the essence of existence at least once overtakes every person, then not for every person this turns into a crisis. What factors influence this?
Causes of the crisis
An existential crisis can only arise in conditions that are safe for humans, if the primary needs. That is, a person is fed, clothed, shod, healthy, protected - biological life beautiful, no need to survive. Then the question arises about a higher level - the development of personality, organization and meaning social life person.
Exists interesting opinion, according to which an existential crisis befalls those who have nothing to do, who have a lot of free time, no real life problems that need to be addressed. By the way, very often a crisis does not develop because a person immediately switches from thinking about the essence of life to everyday needs and real social activity.
The existential crisis develops against the background of:
- and depressive tendencies of the individual;
- social isolation;
- lack of sleep and overwork;
- dissatisfaction with your own life, work, family, yourself;
- adaptation to work, study, change of usual conditions;
- awareness of the inevitability of death or meeting with it (death loved one, making a fatal diagnosis);
- lack of goals in life and independence, living “with the flow”;
- disappointments in previous ideals and meanings;
- deterioration of health, difficulties in life;
- creative thinking;
- awareness of the transience of life and loss of strength;
An existential crisis forces a person to think about the usefulness of life. Accordingly, the risk group includes people who have not been able to fully realize themselves in society.
By the way, every participant in society is useful for society, unless we are talking about a dependent, a criminal, or an asocial type. But such individuals are rarely concerned with the question of the meaning of life. So any participant in society, any employee, is useful. The question is how much he himself evaluates his usefulness and the correspondence of reality to his capabilities and abilities.
Signs of a crisis
During an existential crisis, a person feels alone in in a broad sense(in the entire universe) and constantly thinks about the meaning of his existence. Characteristic signs there is no crisis, the subject can either remain cheerful in public or withdraw into himself. However, at the internal level, an existential crisis is always accompanied by:
- anxiety;
- and tension;
- uncertainty;
- (anger, resentment, irritation, sadness);
- inability to concentrate;
- apathy, loss of previous interests;
- indifferent attitude towards one's own appearance and condition.
An existential crisis is always experienced internally very hard. This is a negative, depressing state that provokes negative thinking. If you don’t fight this and don’t direct your thoughts in a positive direction, then the crisis will end in tears.
Outwardly, there are two options for the manifestation of a crisis - a person is active, grabs hold of everything, tries to do a lot and try a lot; the personality withdraws into itself. The second option is more useful, but at the same time more dangerous. On the one hand, in order to understand the crisis, you need to recognize it and talk to yourself, find out what exactly made you doubt your significance and usefulness. Maybe you envied some couple and realized your loneliness, or the success you expected at work never came. But on the other hand, it is important not to get lost in the labyrinths of consciousness and subconscious, to find constructive solution way out of the crisis.
How to overcome
All researchers come to the conclusion that the crisis of existence can only be overcome by recognizing that the meaning of life lies in living the present moment. A person does not have a given mission and there is no objective meaning of existence, but everyone creates a subjective meaning of their life. Accordingly, to overcome the crisis you need to find your personal meaning in life.
What could it be:
- creation or development of a family;
- giving birth and raising children;
- social activity, charity;
- transferring your experience, training the younger generation;
- finding love, building relationships;
- faith;
- animal care;
- other.
The media, family, received from other sources during socialization help to argue the fact of a person’s existence.
The feeling of total loneliness is the second element of an existential crisis. It can only be overcome by recognizing that even the most high level will not allow you to understand and feel another person. Each person is unique, yes, it sometimes causes a feeling of loneliness, but you need to learn to use it. Successful Overcoming crisis presupposes the acceptance of one’s uniqueness and originality. If you highlight a specific feature in this, develop it and use it in self-realization and the realization of the meaning of life, then the crisis will be resolved successfully.
It is necessary to overcome the crisis and find a purpose in life, otherwise the state will turn into despondency, passivity, and indifference to oneself and one’s life. Gradually, addiction, degradation and self-destruction will join this. Often a protracted crisis ends in suicide (since there is no point, then why wait for death).
Afterword
The search for the essence of life is associated with human self-realization. Indeed, no one will like to hear that he is useless or that his existence and death will not change anything. It has a positive effect, that is, self-expression in creativity, for example, in music, poetry, prose, drawing.
Each person at some point tries to argue for his existence, someone says that “everything is God’s plan,” someone gives birth to children and sees the meaning of their life in prolonging human race, and someone creates new drugs. There are, of course, unique people who insist that they were sent higher power, who constantly contact an individual, say that he has something important to convey to the whole world or simply knows how to heal. But this story often ends in psychiatry.
Swift whirlpool Everyday life“twists” people into worries about their daily bread, career growth, caring for the family. However, at a certain life stage everyone comes to the realization of the frailty of existence, when everything that a person has strived for for many years seems empty and unnecessary matter. An existential crisis sets in, which is characterized by a reassessment of values, awareness inevitable death and the search for new ideals and meaning in life.
A little theory
The term originates from philosophy. The founders of the theory of existential crisis were Karl Jaspers, Rollo May and Jean-Paul Sartre. They argued that the existence of man in this world can only be explained irrationally. That is, unity with the subtle world is felt under the condition mortal danger. It is the threat to life that helps one realize the full value of earthly existence and move on to a new one, significant level development.
Existentialism allowed the birth of a new psychological school, which is based on humanistic approach. She justified the term existential crisis.
So, an existential crisis is a period in a person’s life when he experiences a feeling of strong mental discomfort, accompanied by anxiety and doubts about the meaning of existence.
Most often, people who have achieved material well-being or a certain social status. There is disappointment in those ideals that were previously indisputable. The appearance of neuroses and some psychological disorders is possible, since the loss of the meaning of life inevitably leads to changes in guidelines and aspirations.
Reasons for appearance
People are more prone to crisis creative professions who have more free time and are accustomed to introspection. Those who are engaged in physical labor are less susceptible to thinking and “digging” into themselves. Nevertheless, the crisis does not bypass them either. The reason for its appearance is most often associated with certain life situations that require more detailed consideration.
- The death of a loved one or family member;
- Fear own death associated with danger to life;
- Being alone for a long time;
- Inability to communicate with family or loved ones;
- Disappointment in religion;
- Use of psychotropic drugs;
- Feelings of loneliness and rejection by society;
- Growing up children and their independent life, in which there is no longer so much room for parental care.
Awareness of the paradox of existence, which lies in the belief in the importance of one’s own presence on earth and clear understanding the fact that there is no meaning or purpose in this existence is the main difference between an existential crisis and other turning points human life. Wherein distinctive feature This stage is the suddenness of awareness.
The answer to the question about the meaning of life will help you get out of the crisis. People find a way out of this situation by following three paths:
- Deep faith and acceptance religious teachings about the immortality of the soul.
- Mystical purpose human soul, which is based on occult sciences and also provides for the absence of irretrievable loss of life. As a rule, such teachings are based on the transmigration of souls.
- The definition of a goal by the person himself, his desire to leave a material trace after his departure.
Let's consider the feelings of psychological imbalance that a person experiences during this crisis.
Voluntary death
Thoughts about the uselessness of one’s own existence haunt a person. They are experienced especially acutely by people who were confident in self-importance and usefulness to society. As a rule, they occupy leadership positions or are associated with the distribution of job responsibilities.
Seeing no way to resolve internal conflict, a person enters a state of despair, which is characterized by a complete loss of interest in what will happen tomorrow. The desire to end a meaningless earthly existence haunts a person, and thoughts of suicide appear.
At this moment, the support of loved ones is important, who will not allow you to remain alone and will help you realize the importance of the individual.
The danger of loneliness
It should be noted right away that there are two types of loneliness:
- Regular;
- Existential.
The first type is also called everyday loneliness. Many people are susceptible to it. Such loneliness is characterized by isolation from society and its rejection. The fear of being rejected prevents you from enjoying communication and letting someone into your life.
As for the second type of loneliness, it is much deeper and is based not only on the absence and support of other people. Its distinctive feature is the complete destruction of its own ideals, the collapse internal balance. The consequence of a person staying in this state for a long time is complete absence the desire to find purpose and meaning in everyday activities. Apathy and boredom are not pathological processes. This means that a person has no desire to develop and strive for something, but he has no desire to die.
Fear of life's manifestations
An existential crisis does not only manifest itself in loneliness and rejection. Its main symptoms are anxiety and fear.
Fears are not of any kind specific meaning: they are closely related to a person’s worldview. Feelings of anxiety and fear manifest themselves in everyone who experiences this period. However, they manifest themselves in different ways. For example, a strong subconscious and will can minimize these manifestations.
Psychologists divide fears of this type into 4 groups:
- Fear of death and the transience of time. A person is afraid of losing youth and attractiveness. He is horrified by the thought that he may become weak, unable to self-care. Terror of impending death and the unknown after it.
- Fear of space - darkness, water, anything open area. Helplessness in the face of sudden life changes results in the desire to follow a clear way of life according to a schedule.
- Fear of life. A lack of understanding of the mystery of life processes and a feeling of their complete meaninglessness haunt a person.
- Fear of the capabilities of one's own psyche. Fear of losing control over the mind and feelings, inability to control own desires actions.
Fear gives rise to a feeling of guilt for the fact that a person could not realize the hopes placed on him by society, family or himself. However, the appearance of guilt indicates the beginning of overcoming the crisis stage.
Ways to overcome
An existential crisis can only be overcome when a person is aware of its presence and wants to get out of its influence.
So, a way out of the current difficult situation consists of 2 stages:
- Admit it. As soon as a person realizes that his psychological state needs changes, we can assume that he has already half-solved the problem.
- Find new meaning life, set meaningful goals.
When overcoming crisis period In life, it is important to remember that any turning point is the beginning of a new path that will help you become better, more confident and stronger.
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
The Beatles, “Eleanor Rigby”
More than 80% are susceptible to a midlife crisis
people from 35 to 55 years old.
19 million people annually commit
unsuccessful attempts suicide.
In 70% of cases the cause is depression.
Statistics.
It is unknown how many people lead a plant-based lifestyle...
Existence is not Sartre and Camus with Fromm, but You, the Reader in dangerous age and with the symptoms of Sunday neurosis, your individual experience of reality. And your crisis will sooner or later end in death.
The disease of freedom and choice, from which you run, strive to drink and eat and cover up your loved ones with ridiculous hobbies or skirts, worsens with despair or freezes chronic diseases, but passes only with the last breath of a person. Are you human? - Then wait for your questions, there’s no use running!
The concept of existence was first introduced by the forerunner of the existentialists, the 19th-century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who defined it as awareness of a person’s inner existence in the world. A person can gain “existence” through conscious choice, moving from an “inauthentic”, contemplative-sensual and externally oriented existence to the comprehension of oneself and one’s own uniqueness, having gone through a crisis, and can wander in the web of delusions until the moment of death, while denying it.
I lived nicely in the first third
Twenty years in this world - according to teaching,
Lived comfortably and in business,
He swam wherever his eyes looked - with the flow.
Will it creak when turning?
It will crackle in the whirlpool - I don’t listen,
I take off my shoes, then I put on my shoes,
I admire myself in the water and eat the mash.
V. Vysotsky, “Two Fates”
Crisis of youth. Middle age crisis. Crisis of old age. Formally they differ in reasons, but they are based on one existential longing, longing for the meaning of life.
Transition to adult life cannot be implemented without developing a new worldview. At this time, it is necessary to consciously accept a certain system of views on life, on how to live in this world and what path to choose in it; a person’s system crystallizes value orientations, the “meaning of life”, strategic goals and more or less ambitious life plans. And if you're lucky, you did everything right. And so, no longer caring about your daily bread, but about a fashionable car and vintage wine in the refrigerator, you see life as a TV, passing without your participation, where the announcer tells you what to do, and the director how to play. And you no longer remember what it’s like to be yourself? But you know how to be comfortable and cozy. Until your loved one leaves slamming the door. Or maybe a beggar girl with an accordion will look into your eyes? Or will the filled house ring with the emptiness of text messages from boutiques?
But it's sad to think that it's in vain
youth was given to us,
That they cheated on her all the time,
That she deceived us;
What are our best wishes?
What are our fresh dreams
Decayed in quick succession,
Like rotten leaves in autumn.
A. Pushkin, “Eugene Onegin”
She is a free and self-sufficient woman.
It's just a hobby for her...
cry in the bathroom at night, hugging your knees.
Internet, joke
This is a midlife crisis, an existential crisis.
The concept of midlife crisis was introduced into scientific use by Carl Jung, who attributes it to age period 35–40 years old. However, the present has outpaced science, and the rapidly growing generation, which in one decade has exchanged calculators for gadgets, is making a career or a fortune and is entering a crisis earlier and earlier. What characterizes an existential crisis?
Loneliness. Mortality. The realization that life has no meaning. Destruction of values and A New Look to the world. The feeling and fear of one’s own freedom, and as a result, peak pain or pleasure, leading to a search for new meaning. This is a classic of the genre.
The onset of one's own death ceases to be an abstract event. The countdown of time begins - now you think not about how much has been lived, but how much is left. It is at this point that one begins to clearly see what Heidegger called “the impossibility of further possibilities.” Confrontation with death provokes fear, but at the same time it can make life much richer, because by understanding the finitude of life, we strive to make it fuller and brighter, someone also said...
Otherwise, the crisis of old age will overtake us - a desperate shelter from impending death in furious stereotypes, bilious hatred, absurd optimism, apathy or a religious cult. Well, yes, you’ve already been on the front line and you know for sure that there is no meaning in life. Maybe there is a God? Well, at least in exchange for a generous donation... But that comes later. Your chance is your questions.
Wandering through the pastures of this world,
Endlessly pushing apart the tall thickets,
I'm trying to find the bull.
Along nameless rivers, along tangled paths
I'm making my way through distant mountains.
My strength is leaving, I can’t stand it,
I can't find the bull.
And only at night the crunch of locusts is heard in the forest.
Kakuan, “Ten Bulls”
Can I be in this world? This is the motivation to physical survival and spiritual overcoming being, that is, to “being able to be.” Why are some people more firmly in the saddle of their lives than others? What does this depend on? These people are also called strong. They know how to accept and endure life as it is. There is no hysteria, there are plans, strategies, work.
Others expect the world to adapt to their desires and needs. There is a dream, there is an already invented planned life that I want to live. And when the circumstances of life do not fit into this imagined life, then a lot of powerless rage, despair and the desire to escape can arise.
I may be in this world, but is my life good? After all, if nothing in life pleases me or attracts me, is it worth living such a life? Motivation to receive mental joy from life and experience values, i.e. to “enjoy living.” This is the topic of depression. It's about about the ability to be emotionally open and included in life. Do not turn off your sensitivity for fear of feeling pain and suffering, but gain courage and meet people halfway, open your soul to them, share the emotions that are born in relationships.
Do I have the right to be like this? Grade own behavior, desires, intentions are fixed in a judgment that justifies or blames oneself. Judging oneself is the result of looking into oneself, observing oneself. Am I correct? Am I doing the right thing? But what is right? What agrees with me, what my heart is for, and what agrees with my conscience.
What is the request now? life situation? What should I do? This process resists the existential vacuum, the feeling of deep disappointment with life, the experience of its meaninglessness. A person who lives his life seriously strives to see it as included in a system of more general relationships: historical, cultural, biographical, religious.
“Neo, you are the chosen one! - Oh no not this…". It's late, you woke up. No, the Buddhist Awakening is still very far away, but still.
Forgive me for everything I did wrong
My empty words
My harbingers of war.
Lord save my soul! -
I'm starting to move towards spring.
B. Grebenshchikov, “Towards Spring”
So what to do? If the chance to save the world does not present itself and the fifth element is nowhere to be seen, some psychologists advise hushing up the matter.
For example, the famous Peter Zapffe with his Insulation- “complete detachment from all disturbing and destructive thoughts and feelings”; Fixation - Zapffe compared this mechanism to Henrik Ibsen's idea of the "lie of life" in his play, where the family achieved an acceptable existence by ignoring the skeletons and allowing everyone to live in own world dreams; Abstraction- manifests itself when “everyone limits attention only within the most important points through constant emotional fascination”; Sublimation- redirection of energy from negative to positive (socially acceptable goals).
The existentialists also drew their area of responsibility in a strange way. Man is separated from nature and from his body and, being consistent, from his own consciousness, woven from impressions, memories, imprints outside world. Thus, philosophical direction, dedicated to the study of existence, does not answer the question of healing it from pain, accepts the absence of the One and declares any hope to be cowardice. The nausea remains.
Viktor Frankl's logotherapy encourages the search for the meaning of life.
People alone are trying to cope with an existential crisis in the most in a simple way- not through the search for your individual truth, but through the acceptance of any ready-made concept. They often go to the East, where Unity is dissolved in attractive mystical concepts, and numerous practices allow one to immerse themselves in a new labyrinth for many years.
At one time, downshifting was popular, which simply means “to give up everything and lead a relaxed, simple lifestyle somewhere in the village, preferably on the ocean,” but now this concept has gone underground.
If not down, but up? Where do the paths lead and what are they?
Read articles Enlightenment And The Perfect Man on our website. ;))
Jean Paul Sartre- French philosopher, writer and laureate Nobel Prize on literature. Among his statements about existence and existential crisis:
« Dostoevsky once wrote that “if there is no God, then everything is permitted.” This is the starting point of existentialism. In fact, everything is permitted if God does not exist, and therefore a person is abandoned, he has nothing to rely on either within himself or outside. First of all, he has no excuses. Indeed, if existence precedes essence, then by reference to what is given once and for all human nature nothing can be explained. In other words, there is no determinism, man is free, man is freedom.
On the other hand, if there is no God, we have no moral values or precepts to justify our actions. Thus, neither behind oneself nor in front of oneself - in bright kingdom values – we have no excuses or apologies. We are alone and we have no excuses. This is what I express in words: man is condemned to be free. Condemned because he did not create himself, and yet free because, once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.
No universal morality will tell you what to do; there are no signs in the world.”
To be means to make a choice, or nausea.
Albert Camus - French philosopher, writer and Nobel Prize winner in literature. Including studying Sisyphus as a tireless optimist, moving his stone with his free will. About the crisis: " When the world lends itself to explanation, even if it is not very reliable in its arguments, it is native to us. On the contrary, a person feels like a stranger in a universe suddenly freed from our illusions and attempts to shed light on it. And this exile is inescapable... The discord between a person and the life around him, between the actor and the scenery, actually gives the feeling of the absurd. All healthy people Have you ever thought about suicide..."Riot is proposed as an alternative method to suicide - " a person's constant confrontation with his own ignorance" and Freedom " not to live as best as possible, but to experience as much as possible».
Erich Fromm- German philosopher and brilliant psychologist of productive and destructive. On existential crisis: “ When the connections that gave a person confidence are broken, when an individual confronts the world around him as something completely alien, when he needs to overcome the unbearable feeling of powerlessness and loneliness, two paths open before him. One path leads him to “positive” freedom; he can spontaneously connect himself with the world through love and work, through the genuine manifestation of his sensual, intellectual and emotional abilities; in this way he can regain unity with people, with the world and with himself, without giving up the independence and integrity of his own self.
The other way is the way back: a person’s renunciation of freedom in an attempt to overcome his loneliness by eliminating the gap that has arisen between his personality and the world around him. This second path never returns a person to organic unity with the world in which he lived before, until he became an “individual” - after all, his separation is no longer reversible - it is simply an escape from an intolerable situation in which he cannot continue to live. The individual finds himself “free” in a negative sense, that is, alone and facing an alien and hostile world. In this situation, “a person has no more painful concern than how to find someone to whom he can quickly transfer the gift of freedom with which this unfortunate creature is born.”These are words from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. The frightened individual looks for someone or something with which he can associate his identity; he is no longer able to be himself and is feverishly trying to regain confidence by throwing off the burden of his “I”.”
Description
Possible causes of an existential crisis:
- feelings of isolation and loneliness;
- awareness of one's own mortality, or awareness of the absence of an afterlife;
- realization that own life has no purpose or meaning, neither supernatural nor simply life for life's sake.
In non-existential belief systems, meaning human life very often determined before birth, usually by some supernatural being or group of beings. Distrust of such views usually becomes a prerequisite for an existential crisis. Basically, an existential crisis is the sudden realization that you don’t know why you need life and/or the realization that your own death is inevitably approaching.
A person faces a paradox when he believes that his life is important, and at the same time understands that human existence in itself has no purpose or meaning. At this point, cognitive dissonance occurs. Resolving this paradox eliminates the crisis. The typical resolution of a crisis occurs through the acquisition of faith in a supernatural explanation provided by religion; others are of the opinion that everyone determines the meaning of their own existence on this planet.
An existential crisis is sometimes triggered by a significant event or change in a person's life. Usually the event makes a person think about his own mortality, removing the psychological barrier that protected against these unpleasant thoughts. Typical examples of such events are the death of a loved one resulting real threat life, the use of psychedelics such as LSD, growing up and leaving one’s own children from home, reaching a certain age or long-term confinement in solitary confinement.
Overcoming the crisis
There are various ways to overcome an existential crisis. Someone may decide, for example, that there is no point in thinking about this, since we will never know certain existential truths and will not receive any guarantees. Or that it is not important to know what is happening and how; all that matters is the present. And someone may decide that the essence of life is to be happy, and will try to accumulate more knowledge to achieve this.
Peter Zapfe, Norwegian philosopher, at work The Last Messiah offers a four-step way to overcome an existential crisis: isolation, fixation, distraction and sublimation.
See also
Notes
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