Existential crisis

Existential philosophy as a new direction arose in the 20th century. Its ideologists were Karl Jaspers, Rollo May, Jean-Paul Sartre.

This direction denied the philosophy of rationalism and argued that human existence is irrational. Its representatives believed that a person can realize his unity with the world, or existential, in a certain "border situation", for example, with a mortal threat. This experience is a value, because it allows a person to move to a different level of awareness of being.

From existentialism a new psychological school was born, based on a humanistic approach. Thanks to this trend in psychology, the notion of an existential crisis emerging at the moment when a person first thinks about why he exists in this world has spread.

Existential psychology sees man as an accidental being in the material world. Understanding this, any one of us starts to wonder about what his place is here, what the purpose is, whether he is able to cope with the trials that are prepared for him.

An existential crisis can arise in youth, at the moment of maturing of the person, and also in adulthood, when a person evaluates his life lived. It can be a painful emotional experience, especially if there is no way to find answers to the tormenting questions.

Overcome the existential crisis in several ways. Most people decide that you should not ask these questions, because different things require attention and participation.

Some people find a way out, realizing that only the present moment matters, and it is important to live it fully, so that later, when approaching death, do not regret about the missed moments.

Anyway, but the existential crisis always has a result in the form of a choice. Man decides to follow a certain direction and finds support for his future life. As a result, he acquires relative inner harmony until the next moment of rethinking values.

An essential part of the crisis is existential loneliness. Living it can also be painful. Once a person comes to the understanding that he is alone in the face of death. Sooner or later he will go completely alone into oblivion, leaving all attachments and material goods in this world.

Such an experience prompts a person to ask questions about the essence of the universe. Is there somewhere the creator of this world or everything that happens to us is an accident, and our lives are similar to the existence of microorganisms in comparison with the greatness of the universe?

Existential loneliness can be acutely felt after a loss in the experience of grief or after a severe psychological trauma. Also similar thoughts arise in a person who is on the verge of death. The feeling of loneliness can be so strong that a person pushes it out. And then, in order to successfully overcome a severe, often depressive state, it is necessary for him to learn to realize and accept his loneliness.

True liberation is possible only if a person can overcome the limits of his personality and begin to open to people, strive for them and become sincere in manifesting their feelings. So the existential crisis can be successfully overcome.

One of the undoubted merits of the psychology of existentialism is the fact that the representatives of this trend saw man as a being developing, seeking to overcome the habitual framework of being and personality boundaries. This broadened the understanding of the person, made possible new approaches in psychotherapy, which became more successful in coping with depressive states and the experience of the separation of a person from the world inherent in Western culture. Man is seen as the master of his life, responsible for himself, seeking to become himself.

One of the most important concepts of existentialism is existential fear. This is not a fear that pushes people to create artificial limitations. On the contrary, the residence of fear shocks the person to the very foundations, revealing before him unknown truths.

It is necessary, since it is able to free a person from a measured and thoughtless existence, from everyday problems. The existential crisis is most often accompanied by the residing of such fear.

Fear can come suddenly, and at first the person does not realize the reason. But gradually, peering at himself, he begins to think about the meaning of what is happening to him and understands that most of his life values and landmarks are erroneous. This leads to another change in the world outlook and, as a consequence, to the emergence of a new direction of life and overcoming the crisis.