Are you having an existential crisis, or just being self-indulgent?

By Sienna Parekh

Ah, the existential crisis. Whether it’s regarding the relatable teen youtuber or the troubled academic, I’m sure we have all seen this term thrown around. But do you really know what it means to go through an existential crisis? 

The term “existential crisis” essentially refers to a moment of deep questioning of self, with the roots of this occurrence lying in the philosophy of existentialism. Existentialists believe that people are searching to find out who they are and what the purpose of their life is through the choices they make based on their own experiences, beliefs and outlook. The main ‘conclusions’ about life made by existentialists are that: human nature is chosen through life choices, all decisions result in consequences, personal responsibility and discipline is crucial, society is unnatural, religious and secular rules are unnecessary and, my personal favourite, worldly desire is futile. 

While the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard was thought of to be the father of existentialism, the most notable upsurge of this school of thought was in the years following The Great Depression and World War II where the previous optimistic stance on life was replaced by one of despair. Philosophers like Nietzsche, Sartre and Camus then popularised this philosophy by articulating and attempting to remedy such despair through existentialism. These philosophers have all agreed that existentialism objects most to when a person or society demands that a certain set of beliefs, values or rules are to be faithfully followed without objection. The timing of the rise in popularity of existentialism may also be able to provide a commentary on the political landscape, with the Nazi dictatorship having recently crumbled, and the beginning of the Cold War in the US. 

Being a self-proclaimed cynic of many philosophical ideas, I found it particularly humorous that, when researching for this article, most of the information about existential crises could be found on official medical websites. According to ‘medical news today’, “An existential crisis may occur when a person frequently wonders whether or not life has any inherent meaning or purpose. A person may also question their own existence within a world that might seem meaningless”. 

Before I tell you that you’re probably not having an existential crisis, let’s explore the different types of these crises and what can cause them:

The most common existential crisis refers to emotions and existence, where a person trying to block out negative emotions may end up feeling even more out of touch with their own emotions, another is centred around questions of death and the limitations of one’s own mortality. This, however, is not to be confused with your dad buying a red sports car aged 40, as in a midlife crisis, and the feelings you have are that of not having done enough with your life, rather than feeling as if your life has no meaning. Another common aspect of an existential crisis is thoughts of individual freedom and being held accountable for your choices. Often, an existential crisis will stem from a major event in life like the death of a loved one, going through a traumatic experience, experiencing a change in relationship like marriage or divorce. There have also been links found between existential crises and mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder. 

These types of thoughts are very common and, while I believe it is healthy to have these thoughts every now and again, the latter portion of the phrase ‘existential crisis’ suggests a more dramatic nature to this questioning. Existential crises are not just a moment in which you ponder your life, then continue with your day, this practice could be simply put as one dabbling in ideas of existentialism.