It does not happen overnight, but the existential crisis is brewing over time. But it is true that one day you wake up thinking that every day is the same, that every day is more difficult for you and that you have been left without enthusiasm and desire. Then you start to wonder what the meaning of life is and you have the horrible feeling that whatever the meaning is, it’s surely for the other side, because you can’t find it. Is it possible to overcome an existential crisis? Of course.
What is an existential crisis?
- Sometimes people talk about crises in a relationship, the crisis of the 40s or even the 50s. It seems that throughout our lives we are subject to crises and that’s the way it is, but what counts is being able to come out of them stronger, right? An existential crisis questions your entire life and directly attacks your essence. It doesn’t matter how old you are, because it can lead you to depression or it can lead you to find your way.
- You choose the outcome of the existential crisis. But in order to overcome it, you first have to identify it. If you often think that your life has no meaning and no matter how hard you search, you cannot find it, if you feel cheated by life because it is not what you expected, if you notice a certain vital emptiness or sometimes vertigo, if you have run out of illusions, if every day you have less reason to smile or if you feel that life bores you, you may have an existential crisis. To do?
- You can change jobs, you can change partners, you can change friends, cities, countries and continents. You can cut your hair and change the way you dress, but the real change has to be done inside. Because the existential crisis comes when you have disconnected from your values, when you no longer remember what those values are or when you have not lived according to them for so long that you have lost your essence.
How to overcome an existential crisis?
- An existential crisis can become so deep that it has given rise to a whole philosophical current, existentialism. We are not talking about a passing moment. When you’re not happy, when you don’t feel good, when you don’t feel alive, it’s time to overcome the existential crisis.
- The first step to overcome an existential crisis is to reconnect with your values, to clearly fix everything that is important to you in your mind. And don’t be afraid to innovate, because values can change throughout life. But in any case, to find your values and recover your essence you will have to do an introspection exercise and dive inside yourself.
- Do not rule out asking for psychological help to guide you through the steps, so you will take them with more confidence, with some support and with a better chance that there will be no relapses in the future.
- The emptiness inherent to the existential crisis produces paralysis and vital blockage. The only way to combat it is by acting, by doing things. But what things? In principle, any action will help you overcome at least the blockage, but think that if you dedicate yourself to doing the things you like the most, you will be able to fill that existential void much sooner.
- Sadness frequently appears hand in hand with the existential crisis, but also low self-esteem. After a time of vital skepticism, it is normal to feel that you are worth little or feel more insecure, so take care of that aspect and continue working to improve your self-esteem. You will be more protected against the crisis.
- Don’t be afraid to make drastic decisions like changing jobs, leaving your partner or just leaving everything. The worst that can happen is that you find yourself and have to start from scratch. And that is not bad, it is precisely the cure for the existential crisis.
- If you don’t want to be so drastic, that’s fine. You don’t have to go spend 6 months in India to recover your essence and find meaning in life. Look at what you have, in your family, in your friends, in your material goods as well. And thanks for it.
- Acceptance and gratitude will clear up your doubts about the meaning of your life. Knowing how to enjoy the present moment will make your existential vision stop being so important to dedicate yourself to living in the now. And right now, are you happy?