People and professionals often divide up depression into different types, such as “clinical” depression versus “non-clinical” depression, “biological” depression versus “situational” depression. The diagnostic manual professionals refer to, however, doesn’t make any distinctions about theorizing where or how your depression is caused, and neither does …
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Also commonly known as a midlife crisis. Turning 40 often brings this kind of introspective shakeup.
medicines can always help depression especially serious depression. the doctor was wrong.
of course meds are not a short cut or a means of avoiding the central problem but they are a good paliative for dangerous symptoms that should not be ignored.
existential depression. also known as mid-life crisis??? joy, i’ve been having a mid-life crisis since i was 19. so far it’s lasted 14 years. but then the crux of my situation has been my (as well as every pastor, counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist i’ve ever encountered) being unaware that i’m a high-functioning asperger with remarkably highly-developed social skills. life has been starting to make sense.
Ken, what I was referring to is something else. It’ll happen to you too. But then goals clarified, life moves on.
I’m wondering, how established is the term ‘existential depression’?
My therapist suggested I fit under it, whatever it’s meant to be, but then she didn’t talk much more about it. Other than that and now this article, I haven’t run across the term before. Is it a used psychological category, or are they just figuring it out or something?
I was just diagonased with this form of depression never heard of it before I’ve been dealing with depression probably longer then I realized I was depressed. Still as of this day I’m trying to struggle through it, so to say it is midlife crisis blah blah midlife crisis probably makes it worse maybe not sue because I’m have symptoms that I’ve never experienced
Also commonly known as a midlife crisis. Turning 40 often brings this kind of introspective shakeup.
Funny, I remember going through my first bout of something similar to this at age 15.
My view is that we’re all an “experiment of one” – what applies to people in general may not apply to an individual. Each of us has the capacity to create a fulfilling, happy and peaceful life, no matter what age we are.
It takes practice. What I’ve found to be more effective than psychotherapy in dealing with existential issues is spiritual practice, like meditation. It bypasses the automatic thinking that creates suffering and connects us with something beyond our identity.
Check out happiness-after-midlife.com for some views on the relationship between happiness and aging.
Existential depression can also come into fruition when an individual conceptualizes Evolution, astronomy and philosophy and discoveres there is no objective in life. When an individual is smart enough not to be dissuaded by organized religion (the opiate to heal this depression) and realizes that 99% of humans who have lived, died not knowing the truth. The most horrific revelation one discovers in Science is that Humanity WILL become extinct, our story will end. E pur se muove
Twenty-four years ago I was a client in a therapy group and had shared my story. One of the therapists asked me, “What is the meaning of life?”. “I don’t know”, I replied. “Is that OK, not to know?”, he asked. “No”, I replied. That pretty much describes my dilemma, and twenty-four years later, I feel like I’m no closer to knowing than I did at that time. And the possibility that when I am on my deathbed, I will still not know, is the most depressing thought I have.
“Existential depression” is something we all SHOULD endure, although many take the easy way out as “Name” put it, they turn to “organized religion (the opiate to heal this depression).” What religion aspires to do is take exactly this kind of burden off of people’s shoulders by giving them “faith,” magic, and miracles instead of answers. The world is changing, the fact that more and more people feel this is a good thing. Fight through it! Follow the question “Who am I?” not to the ends of the Earth, but within yourself. Again, if you take the time to study existentialism as “Name” certainly has, you’ll realize one major keystone is acceptance. Accept that you WILL die, accept your past as choices that you WILLED for yourself, and accept that you are in control of YOUR life (although you also have to accept that the only person you control is you. Accept that good and bad may also come to you through others’ doing). Even making the choice not to take control is still a choice on your part.
Carol, to admit you don’t know is a good thing, but don’t dwell on the forlorn, or else that’s all you’ll ever see. You assign your own meaning to your life through choices you’ve made and choices you will make in the future. Hence, the journey is the treatment.
Please don’t turn to drugs (prescription included) unless you really need it. Understand that all they do is give you a forced momentary relief, and are NOT the answers you are looking for. Prescription drugs may help, but cannot “cure” existential depression.
PS. Accepting isn’t the whole battle. It’s only the start. From there, you make your own choices by questioning and closing the disconnect between who you see yourself as and who you want to be. Though of course, we all can’t have everything. Strive to have one virtue, thus does it go down easier. And when i say “virtue,” I don’t mean any of those institutionalized ideologies for codes of conduct. I mean finding a passion-real and true-that will make your life meaningful to yourself.
I’m glad someone else is talking about this. Existential depression is often associated with introspective people, and the best treatment is to share the experience with like-minded individuals. I’m in the 3rd month of a pretty awful episode and I’m relieved to hear I’m not the only “failed nietzscheist” experiencing breakdown.
im writing a paper about existential depression and cant find a proper definition of it over the net, or i found but they are confusing and contradictory sometimes. some call depression as existential vs the spychological depression, and say it is without a reason while the second has a reason.so existintual is uncaused vs psychological depression that is caused. some defferintiate between two types, clinical depression and existential attributing the first to lack of hormons and as such and so it is not related to any even outside the body. im so confused, and lost, and dont know where this name came from, did it come from the philosophical movement called existentialism? but those spoke of despair and enxiety and believed that life had no meaning to start with, as such, despair is the normal condition of a healthy individual, and those who dont have depression are the ones who are sick! please help
I have struggled with existential depression since I was nine. Now I’m fifteen and still struggling. I don’t think I’m having my midlife crisis.
Oh yeah. Psychotherapy. Gee, I was just thinking to myself, I’m horridly disheartened by the knowledge that my life will end in a meaningless and unremembered death, that all my achievements will be crushed by time, that eventually even time will stop when the universe achieves it’s maximum entropy state. Clearly what I need to is to spend a lot of time and money jawwing with the fanatic offspring of a discredited, disingenuous charlatan. Screw that, I’ll be over here, meditating under the Bodhi tree.
To say that existential depression is the same as a ‘midlife crisis’ is complete bullshit. Existential depression affects people who are not middle aged. I should know.
I’ve been struggling with depression and existentialistic thoughts for years now.
I’m 17.
I’ve been going through the same thing for years now too Jenny, I’m 18. Releiving to hear someone the same age as me understands what it feels like.
I disagree with 314159pi. While sometimes medications can help to cope a bit, in the grand scheme of things very often most people aren’t invested in doing the work that it takes (and for those of us who have, we can tell you that it’s can be very painstaking and frightening at times) and then just take a pill and go back to their regularly scheduled way of being (as in the one that wasn’t working for them) and believe it is just the wrong prescription.
Also meds can sometimes mask important things like grieving that needs to be worked through or anxiety that needs to learn to be handled on one’s own.
Does this crisis force you to focus on everything that makes you and your spouse different? My husband is only focussing on his wants and needs and is totally neglecting mine. He is doing what he wants and saying that he needs to do this. I want my old husband back. Help!
Your old husband doesn’t exist. Neither does his old wife.
Hi all. I’ve enjoyed reading your comments. I’m 26, I left fundamentalist Christianity about a year ago and I’ve been dealing with heavy existential issues since.
First there was death. I’ve mostly worked through that. First, I’ve realized that “I” doesn’t exist outside of my environment and “I” changes from day to day. So, since I’m a collection of influences from outside me and a physical body which came from something besides myself, in some sense, not a whole lot will be lost when I die.
Then there’s the identity issues. Those still bother me a bit. If we as individuals are brains, and brains physically change, we’re not the same person day to day. I suppose the greatest relief I’ve had from this is realizing that, although I do change, many of the changes that occur within me are brought about by me. So, there’s still some continuum to myself.
As far as meaning goes . . . I’m coming to the conclusion that the point of life is to experience and accomplish whatever I feel compelled to. In other words, there is no universal meaning, but things have meaning because I say they do, they always had, and that’s OK.
Recognizing that I decide what matters, the task is to figure out what I care about. The value I place on “things” seems to be the product of both my somewhat unique innate human propensities and the imprint which has been left on me by the collision of my genetically unique human form and the rest of the world.
For example, I care about other people; I’d like to help them be happy. Although I could speculate as to why I care about others, I need not do so. Giving to others is part of my purpose in life for no other reason than because I feel love and concern for others.
The two things that I’m still having trouble with are dealing with the feeling that the physical world from which our entire existence is derived is cold and capricious and finding consistency within myself after realizing that I am perpetually shaped by my ever-growing understanding of an imperfectly-discernable and infinitely complex world. How can I find peace in building a future for myself or others when what I build now may lose value as I see the world in a different light down the road?
On the other hand, some things seem to be stable: It seems that it will always be preferential for me to have enough money rather than be poor. It seems that understanding others and building relationships will always matter. However, it’s still tough to commit myself to anything when I know that I might change my mind later.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this stuff.
Hi Jeff,
I really do feel for you, as making that choice to leave your religion must have been so difficult. I have never really been religious, but all through my 5years studying philosophy (which I now regret really, as at this point in time I really do believe ignorance is bliss) I have been agnostic, but had a vague feeling that something must be there, and that there meaning (potentially souls etc) and that there is an overall importance of kindness.
But recently I am suffering really quite badly (suicidal) from an existential crisis.. why am I here? If it’s to positively affect those around me (my previous belief) then why are those people here?…etc. I just can’t cope with it, and have panic attacks and depression at the thought that I will always feel this way. And if I don’t always feel so awful and fearful, am I just hiding from it? And what really is reality if not what you feel and see and think etc.
Anyway, I think my issue is, if there is a God, and one not to be feared.. many of these questions are answered.. although, I’m not sure now. I would love to be able to resign myself to the fact that there is a God, and that I shouldn’t worry about these things because ‘he’ will provide me with answers or whatever. But that leaves me with trying to figure out the point to my life now, and the point to any of it? If there is a God… why? And then comes the impossible to fathom concept of nothingness.
Gosh sorry, bit of a ramble, I’m having real trouble with it tonight… I think I’m just wondering what your take on it all is. Unfortunately I’m feeling now like it won’t help, but whenI started I was a bit optimistic so why not still ask?hehe.
Hope you’re well and thanks for reading my silly ramble
The wisdom of Kabbalah explains that we have reached a time in which many more people experience existential depression, or emptiness, because our desires have evolved and are so big and hard to fufil that unless one finds higher meaning to their life, they just don’t see the point in it.
The good news is, that this is no coincidence, and it is precisely at this point that one can begin to evolve their consciousness, and experience life in a whole new way. It’s just that it’s important to make the wisdom and the tools available so that people will know there are answers to their questions, fuflilment for their existential emptiness, and hope for much much better reality !
To find out more about how to answer the question “what is the meaning of my life” and “who am I, really ?” go to http://www.kab.info
and study this ancient wisdom for free.
Existential depression is most certainly not a ‘mid-life crisis’ I have been suffering with this type of depression for 2 years in bouts now, and I’m only seventeen.
“I am currently facing the great challenge of depression, which I am in the process of curing” – this quote always put’s a different perspetive on it all for me, however I still have that voice in my head asking what is it all? if it even is an all, this could be a dream, what is life? everything is so weird? damn, I hate being ‘gifted’.
I have answers; but I need to be lost in the stars with you…
“As you gaze into the void, know also, the void gazes into you.”
~Mark Twain
Since i was a child i had always experienced existential anxiety which was aggravated to existential depression particularly during my teen years i am now 29 years old and i am now experiencing the worst episode yet i have lost my father just a year ago following 2 years of watching him dying slowly this man whose inner peace always kept my world from crumbling is no more…my doctor helps me as much as he can but i know that the greater part of treatment depends on me sometimes i feel that i can do it other times i feel like i am staring at a black hole and there are times when i am ridiculously numb just going through the days with a numbed soul …i am now on a new medication hopefully it will be of aid to me…i just needed to say this in a place where people know and understand.. good luck for everyone …
i think it is livable ucan live thru depression or whatever forms u call it – just live an average life – shelter urself from pain or borderline situations and well u can make it and not question why things are like this
I’m currently 17 and have been dealing with existential depression since I was 14. It just feels terrible to have an end to life; and for people that believe in an afterlife, thinking about living FOREVER. Forever is such a long and unmeasurable amount of time in which I would want to stop living if I was in an afterlife! I just need some help to clear this from my mind in any way, shape, or form so if anyone could help that would be wonderful.