At different stages of life, a person faces various emotional outbursts that could provoke an existential crisis. In some cases, you can identify the events which serve as triggers – for example, an accident, a different kind of loss (for instance, the death of a loved one), illness, loneliness, a decrease in social status, etc.
The biggest question is whether it is possible to overcome the existential crisis by combining negative and positive experiences.
The True Causes of the Crisis
Sad or traumatic experiences are not the only cause of an existential crisis. Sometimes, they may take the form of joyful and positive events, such as childbirth, love, and marriage. The other scenario is when the person feels that something has changed inside and can no longer live their life as it was yesterday. Very often, an event that provokes the crisis is negligible, but it’s the last drop in the accumulated emotional load.
Thus, crisis triggers are determined not only by external content but also by the internal dynamics of the individual’s psychological life. These often remain outside conscious awareness and cannot be controlled or predicted.
Triggers Of an Existential Crisis
It is necessary to consider that the crisis can be provoked not only by events in one’s personal history. A crisis can be experienced in extreme situations at a global level—for example, political, economic, social, environmental and natural disasters. Suppose you consider the events happening on our planet as the context for humanity’s biological, psychological, and spiritual development. Then, the relationship between personal and global levels becomes more apparent. Undoubtedly, individual experiences reflect the events taking place at the worldwide level. The scale of tragic global events can exacerbate the depth of a personal crisis.
- The external characteristics of the crisis may be different.
- The triggers can have a completely different character.
- The response to the crisis varies from individual to individual.
To understand how to cope with the crisis. You have to determine its inner essence. This is the psychological mechanism that causes the occurrence.
Life Events
A crisis can arise when life events potentially threaten the satisfaction of basic needs. Sometimes, when this occurs, the person can’t resolve or conventionally escape this threat. In these circumstances, the essence of the crisis is a conflict. The conflict between the individual’s old and new identities. Dissolving the familiar past and possible future. Or, in other words, who you are and who you could become. The crisis moves a person into a so-called neutral zone, where habitual thinking and behavioural patterns do not work. Fears of change accompany this state—fears around being different and breaking away from the usual stereotypes.
Thus, a crisis is a reaction to a situation that requires a change in one’s way of life, mentality, and attitude towards oneself, the world, and fundamental existential problems. By the way, any crisis is already inherent in the fundamental properties of the individual—the desire to develop and improve oneself, which means constantly evolving.
It appears that someone wants the person to gain confidence and strength, become more open and tolerant, and gain a deeper understanding of life. However, alas, we are too busy and don’t prioritise personal growth. And this “someone,” after several unsuccessful attempts to persuade a person, takes a bold decision. At this very moment, a person finds themselves in a situation that destroys all their habitual foundations and creates a problem from which they cannot escape or solve quickly.
What To Do About an Existential Crisis
The person is confused and embarrassed; he perceives the crisis as an evil and dark presence hanging over his life, a complete and irreparable ruin.
Well, the key is to learn to meet with the pain, suffering, the proximity of death, etc., not trying to avoid, turn away or soften them. If you learn to take the suffering as part of your spiritual growth, you’ll automatically change its value.
Most psychologists believe that a crisis is the most essential prerequisite for personal change. Crisis can be either positive—constructive, creative, integrative, or negative—destructive, disruptive, divisive.
This implies that there are two main outputs:
Take a risk and stay open to new opportunities, overcoming the fear of change.
Maintain the existing order of things.
Almost all researchers who have studied anxiety believe that personal growth and anxiety are inseparable. Often, by prioritising the need for security and the desire to preserve the existing order, a person ceases to self-develop, limiting or even destroying themselves.
Thus, to develop (and sometimes survive), you must learn to cope with various critical situations. However, the essence of the crisis causes a person to doubt the possibility of overcoming it. This becomes the biggest problem. Understanding the need for changes is typical for a non-crisis state. But when the person experiences a crisis, he feels that this will never end and won’t find the way out. In this case, the crisis is perceived as the ultimate collapse of a life.
Possible Negative and Positive Effects Of An Existential Crisis
Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, dead-end – these are the most typical feelings for any under-crisis person. During this period, the individual acutely feels the absence of internal support. They have lost touch with the world and with other people.
The pressure of this state pushes the person to immediate solutions. Among them, there could be suicide, neuropsychiatric and psychosomatic disorders, social maladjustment, posttraumatic stress disorder, criminal behaviour, alcohol or drug abuse, etc. Therefore, the crisis may be destructive. This complicates the process of further growth and development.
On the other hand, crisis is the ability to change and pass to a new stage of personality development. This is a positive aspect. The crisis may be an opportunity to make a change in yourself and your life. You can learn something new, set new goals, and adopt new values. An adequate resolution of the crisis allows moving to the next stage of development and becoming more mature.
Death Of the Old And Birth Of The New
The crisis is both dangerous and an opportunity. It is destruction, creation, acquisition, and loss. It can signify the death of the old and the birth of the new. Any phenomenon in this world has its opposite. Our world is dual; this is like one side of the coin exists only because there is another.
Therefore, when dealing with a crisis, you must understand that it consists of both periods of destruction and creation, which are natural components of growth and development. You cannot get something without losing something, and it’s impossible to lose and get nothing in return permanently.
The feature of destruction and creation is that when one is active, the other remains concealed. Sometimes, it may seem incredible, but these two processes occur according to specific laws, and all events are logically connected. The problem is that the person in the destructive phase cannot see it, and only after passing through the crisis can they understand that they gained a lot of experience, even though the expertise seemed harmful during the crisis.
Due to our perception of life, the creation process appears much more appealing, and we have a deeper understanding of it. However, understanding and respecting the destruction process as a necessary stage of personal and social development is a gift we can present to ourselves. Yes, the destruction is a gift, as it contains creation, though hidden.
The crisis is a time when the caterpillar must choose whether to remain afraid of darkness or transform into a butterfly.
