An existential crisis occurs whenever an individual finds himself incapable of giving satisfactory answers to questions about the purpose and meaning of their life or their place in the world. This usually leaves them feeling empty, unsatisfied or without direction. Contemplating life and asking yourself such questions can be quite stressful, and finding your purpose and determining your place in life, although quite a daunting task, is the only solution.

Recognize You're Having An Existential Crisis!

If you suddenly find yourself questioning the purpose and meaning of your existence, or perhaps you have the feeling that the foundations of you and your life seem transient or inconsistent, you might be going through an existential crisis. It might be a result of:

• A sudden realization about your own mortality
• The notion that live does not have an external meaning or real purpose
• An awareness of your freedom and the responsibilities that come with it
• An intense positive or negative experience that makes you seek meaning

The term "Existential Crisis" originates from the philosophical school of existentialism, and relates to the questions this school poses. Most existentialists suggest that the solution to these type of crisis is to choose the meaning of your own life, and be empowered by your freedom to choose how you want to leave. Choose the meaning of your life and start doing things you believe in instead of what others do or say, and you'll ultimately begin feeling better. Here are some methods that can help.

The Last Messiah Method

According to Peter Wessel Zapffe, a Norwegian philosopher, the human mind is frequently repressing its surplus of consciousness, and failure to do so would be very damage. It offers four different ways to do that.

Isolation

Isolation is the process in which an individual dismisses all and any negative thoughts and feelings from their consciousness, actively denying and refusing to entertain them.

Anchoring

Anchoring is the method of holding onto fixed values and ideals such as morality, fate, people, laws of life, the future, the State, the Church, God etc. Keeping your attention to these things, one will feel less like their conscience is adrift and without purpose, as Zapffe says, "Building walls around the consciousness' liquid fray"

Distraction

Distraction consists on keeping the individual's thoughts focused on hobbies, a job or project or any other thought-consuming activity, instead of letting it turn to distressing ideas.

Sublimation

Last but not least, sublimation consists on reshaping and refocusing one's energy toward creative outlets that allow the individual to express themselves, such as art, music, literature or any other creative activity.

Other Methods

One should keep in mind that the problem in an existential crisis is not the thoughts per se, but the individual's attachment to such thoughts. These stressful, negative thoughts come from their reaction to certain experiences, conditioning, their society etc. For this reason, is very important that a person going through an existential crisis questions their beliefs and conditioning, including all political, social, personal and spiritual beliefs.

It's also a good idea to acknowledge that an existential crisis is not at all that uncommon, and many people have them. But in general, it is not a good idea to compare yourself to others, and instead pay attention to how you deal with stuff, and you improve your life instead. Your ability to feel happy should increase drastically if you start comparing yourself only to yourself, in a somewhat stoic type of subjectivity.

It's possible to turn an existential crisis around, and get a exhilarating feeling of freedom and excitement from the idea that there are way too many options and there's no set purpose for one's life. Remember your childhood, full of mystery, adventure and things to discover? If you look around, you will notice that there's still wonder in the world, and it's just up to you to figure out new things and enjoy the ride.

Another thing that helps is figuring out exactly what your problems and concerning questions are. Try and describe, maybe even write down, your situation and clearly explain what you feel and why you feel it. Imagine people you respect or like giving you advice, or maybe imagine yourself giving advice to someone in a similar position, and then follow it.

Above all, if you feel like you're unable to deal with the problem for now, just accept it and try not to think about it too much. Go to sleep or, if you can't, try to do something relaxing until you can. If it's daytime, perhaps get a bit of exercise or work on a project. Take what you learned here and on other sources you may have found on the subject, and apply it - if even after this research you feel unsatisfied, you will likely be more well equipped with useful, interesting philosophical knowledge that can help dealing with the crisis.

A good idea is to put life and death in two columns, and meaning/meaninglessness into two rows, and see how living life is always the best, most meaningful option regardless of the existential angst that might affect you. Focus on creating joy and peace, and finding meaning on the simple, small pleasurable things such as smelling roses, tasting food, feeling the warm sunlight on your skin or looking at beautiful things. Create your own meaning for your life - it is your game, your experiment. Just enjoy playing it and figuring how thing works, respecting others and dealing with whatever comes up as best as you can.

Last but not least, you should always keep in mind and remember that things change, and tomorrow is always a new day. You can always change your situation or do something that will make it easier to find happiness and self-fulfillment in your life. Question yourself "Why?", and find the answer at all costs. Should you find that your crisis may be proving unhealthy or increasingly hard to deal with, it's best to seek professional help.