Existential Anxiety?

[Rhys1879SAFC]

Hey, I think this has been done to death before but I'm having a bad time of it at the moment.

Basically, it seems my health anxiety has morphed into existential anxiety, I've heard of it and have some of the symptoms but could anyone explain abit more to me? Can it be overcome?

Sometimes I just lie awake at night and think "oh I'm so small", especially when looking up at the stars, other times I'll think, why was I born in England? Why was I not born in Africa? And other stupid things like that.

I also keep thinking, what was there before the Earth was made? And what was there before that? How can space have just always been there? How can it possibly be endless? And if it isn't endless, then whats at the end?

To be honest, I think everyone asks themselves these questions in life but whilst some people might not be bothered by not knowing this sort of stuff, I seem to be terrified of it, and I don't know why!!

I think my depersonalisation has contributed to this.

[scaredstiff695]

Hi

i used to get weird thoughts like that. i used to get really bad butterflys whenever i thought of certago thing like death or if you read about world ending or things Like that. idon't tend to get them anymore . but i don't get bad feelings of not being real and nothing around me being real its scary x

[KK77]

I think a number of things are at the root of this: depersonalisation (DP) and/or derealisation (DR), common in depressive/anxious conditions, are likely causes. In philosophical terms, "existential" is far too broad to apply here but there are strands of it - eg, nihilism, solipsism - which could be pertinent.

I studied philosophy but I have always strived to keep my mental health issues separate, otherwise one can end up blaming all sorts of things and get into deeper and deeper matters which serve no purpose other than propositions for which there are usually no pragmatic answers.

I think it's in the nature of anxiety/depression sufferers to over-analyse and think deeply/contemplate and some meds can cause/amplify DP/DR too.

Personally, I find the simple things most effective: just getting on with life as best I can and knowing that such feelings are transitory and will pass.

[Munki]

Hey Rhys,

I'm not sure if this is the best advice I'm about to give but I'd say that you should attempt to accept that you're an inquisitive character. I've always been like this, asking completely bizarre questions and its earned me my reputation of having a 'quirky' personality. I wonder if you are're worrying yourself thinking it's not normal to have these thoughts therefore thinking your're going mad?

There are some things that we absolutely need help for. There are other things that are a part of our biological make up. I think you're just a deeply inquisitive person who likes to analyse. Hey, this is what psychologists are PAID to do :) so it can't be abnormal, right? Maybe don't be so hard on yourself and just accept that you have an analytical nature that is perfectly normal!

Hope that helps...x

[NoPoet]

My point of view is that anxiety and depression make us ask a lot of questions. We normally phrase these in a negative way because we are experiencing a loss of confidence. Often our world view has changed, maybe because someone we love has died, but there are many, many reasons why people ask these questions.

If people didn't ask these questions there would be no philosophy, no creativity. There would be no God, or at least no concept of God. The thing is, you need to be ready to ask these questions. Most people who are asked "Why are we here?" will have a variety of answers and it would lead to an interesting debate, or if you come from Liverpool, an argument followed by a bottle of brown ale breaking over your head.

For us, though, such questions take on a terrifying resonance. They have an ultimate depth that feeds our anxiety.

So for someone who is not anxiously ill these thoughts might not seem so frightening because you interpret them in a different way; when you're anxious or depressed, you naturally interpret things in a damaging or harmful way.

[RND2011]

Hi. I have thoughts like that all the time. Following a visit to Dachau concentration camp last year I read "Mans search for meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Frankl was a concentration camp inmate who was also a psychologist.

His book is his observations of how people find meaning and exist in the most extreme conditions imagineable. A very short and interesting read.

[Razorleech]

I myself study Theology at a University here in sunny england...which it turns out was a bad idea in regards to my anxiety and depression, putting yourself in a position where you end up having to question your own existence everyday is somewhat stressful.
For me I absolutely love Tillich's quote when he started talking about Existential Anxiety "the state in which a being is aware of its possible nonbeing" Pretty sure its from his book the courage to be.
Way I deal with it is instead of thinking about how its possible that I dont exist, I put all of my EA into, albeit pointlessly, attempting to work out what and why things 'are' for instance looking at objects and seeing them as a collection of vibrating molecules interacting with their surrounds as opposed to just an object, this way I dont give myself time to think about whether the molecules exist or not