Existential Dread

What is Civil Engagement?

Starting with the definition from the American Psychological Association, 

         "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."

https://www.apa.org/education-career/undergrad/civic-engagement

and the second definition comes from The Policy Circle, a portion of which comes from Thomas Ehrlich, author of Civic Responsibility and Higher EducationLinks to an external site.

         “Civic engagement means working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes. A morally and civically responsible individual recognizes himself or herself as a member of a larger social fabric and therefore considers social problems to be at least partly his or her own; such an individual is willing to see the moral and civic dimensions of issues, to make and justify informed moral and civic judgments, and to take action when appropriate."

https://www.thepolicycircle.org/brief/whats-whys-civic-engagement

 

Personally civic engagement to me means to actively work with the community in any kind of way for it's betterment. Whether it be to strengthen values or to protect the ideas of said community.

The issue that I will be covering is that of Existential Dread, which according to Psych Central, is persistent negative feelings and emotions linked to wondering about the inherent meaning of life. The reason why I choose this topic is because of the many mental issues that surround existential dread, on top of it being a feeling that seems a bit more evident in our current era.

Research:

Existential Dread, or an existential crisis, comes from the philosophy of existentialism, which is centered around the meaning of existence and what to make of it. One of the most common questions that can come from existential dread would probably, be that of “Why does any of this matter.” This dreadful feeling that you might feel really can’t be fully diagnosed and because of this, it is somewhat hard to really nail down.It can at times stem from anxiety, depression, OCD(obsessive-compulsive disorder), or borderline personality disorder.

The idea of existential dread can change depending on when in life it really occurs. For teens, the effects might be questioning life choices or questioning whether or not the career choice you make is the right one. When you get older, it may be centered around losing opportunities or making the right choices. Now, while questioning life might not feel like a general problem, it isn’t the sole reason for this dread that is being described. In general, it almost feels as though it is just a skeptic’s view point. An article by Kat Struhar, “Eating Birthday Cake With a Side of Existential Dread” points out that “There is no guidebook for how to get older.” On top of this, the article also goes to talk about the morbid idea behind birthdays, that while you may be happy to be older, there is the creeping feeling that you are just getting closer to your death. From this, birthdays become more like a reminder of things that aren’t the same, whether it be overall feelings, or even losing loved ones. 

A J. Wilingham wrote the article, “Y2K aesthetics are so hot right now -- and so is the era’s existential dread” and what it mostly covers is the mentality of Gen Z people, and what most of it covers is the general mental state of the current millenia as well as some of the problems being that of climate change and economical changes.

Psych Central does however continue to talk about ways to get over the feelings brought about by existential dread, and most of which is taking a different perspective, whether it be slowing down to fully understand the situations at hand, or talking with others, just so that you can get rid of the negative feelings that surround existentialism

Self:

I chose this issue mostly for the case of myself really suffering from the problem, and I think that it is something that everyone has encountered, and may just not fully understand. On top of that, the idea of existential dread can really permeate anywhere, and because of this, I think that covering it is a good opportunity. I also felt like Existential Dread is a good topic because at least for me, I don’t really have many issues that pertain to the more impactful issues, and I felt that a slow burn issue like existentialism was a good one to cover since it might be something that people may not really pay very much attention to.

"What do you think are some causes for Existential Dread, and How do you usually deal with it?"

Max Walters:

I think a big cause of existential dread is that people often think of why things happen or where they are in the grand scheme of things. I think people often think of these things after a bad string of luck.  I usually deal with existential dread by taking things one step at a time and thinking that even if I am so small in the grand scheme of things, I am a part of it and I can be a big effect on others.

Vanessa Loverso:

We only live one life and I'm sure many of us want to figure out purpose is. I think the main cause of these thoughts is when people believe life is too short. We don't have forever to figure out what we want to do and who we will become. A lot of people find this scary because our futures aren't set in stone and there's no one answer that someone can give that will bring comfort.

Every so often I will make a list of life goals that I want to accomplish, and it helps me visualize what I want to do with my life. I want to die content. My occasional thoughts about existential dread help me create self-awareness. I ask myself “What are my current values? Who am I as a person right now?, What are my life goals? How am I going to achieve those goals? And what is currently hindering me in life?”.  I'm aware that my future is not set in stone so the most I can do is take it day by day and adapt as challenges come my way.

Works Cited

Gillette, Hope. “What's an Existential Crisis?” Psych Central, Psych Central, 20 May 2021, https://psychcentral.com/lib/existential-crisis-and-dread#takeaway. 

Struhar, Kat. "Eating Birthday Cake with a Side of Existential Dread." University Wire, Sep 22 2022, ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2023 .

Willingham, A. J. "Y2K Aesthetics are so Hot Right Now -- and so is the Era's Existential Dread." CNN Wire Service, Dec 29 2022, ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2023 .