I woke up today in an existential fog, with a vague, dull anxiety that has me feeling semi-dissociated.
I know this place well. On one hand, it has served as a strength as I navigate the world and regularly help people grappling with similar issues. It allows me to access a sense of empathy and understanding that might otherwise be absent. On the other hand, it is quite annoying to be in a chronically reflective state about life’s ultimate purpose. It’s a lot.
For those who don’t know what it means to feel existential, it's a profound sense of contemplation or emotional distress about fundamental aspects of our existence—being alive, being human, etc. This feeling often arises from reflecting on and confronting life’s uncertainties and inevitable truths that define what it means to be alive.
In this state, the questions usually revolve around meaning and purpose. What is my identity? Who am I? Who do I want to be? What truly matters? This introspection often involves reviewing personal decisions, past, present, and future. It can stem from feelings of isolation or alienation, or the existential reflection can itself create a sense of loneliness and isolation. Our internal worlds are uniquely ours, and the reality is, we are alone in that.
Subscribe to read the rest. I share about my own present experience and what I’m attempting to do in order to work through this confusing internal space.
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