Existential Anxiety Research Articles

This study explores the development of the Gothic novel in English literature from a stylistic and cognitive-linguistic perspective. It examines the structure of Gothic narrative discourse and its expressive strategies, highlighting the pivotal role of cognitive metaphor in shaping themes of horror, mystery, and existential anxiety. Drawing on the philosophy of language, the study reveals how Gothic language encodes and reproduces cultural and psychological constructs that reflect the self's confrontation with the irrational and the unknown. Through critical readings of seminal Gothic texts, the study traces the dynamic interplay between language and aesthetic experience, demonstrating how Gothic fiction reflects evolving artistic, social, and intellectual paradigms. It discusses how early Gothic narratives, characterized by medieval settings and dark, enclosed spaces, responded to their social and political environments, particularly the tensions of modernity and class transformation. In later developments, the Gothic style deepened its philosophical and psychological concerns, engaging with notions of creation, morality, madness, and the limits of humanity. The study concludes that the Gothic novel constantly reinvents itself, maintaining its literary vitality and cultural significance through continuous adaptation to new contexts. This capacity for transformation has allowed the Gothic style to remain a resonant form of artistic expression, transcending the boundaries between reason and chaos, reality and imagination, thus ensuring its enduring presence and importance in contemporary literary discourse.

BackgroundCurrent understanding of suicidal behavior remains largely medicalized, with existential factors underexplored despite their relevance. Growing evidence highlights wisdom’s role in addressing existential concerns and enhancing well-being. We examined how existential thinking, existential anxiety, and wisdom relate to suicidal behavior among Indian adults.MethodThis cross-sectional study included a total of 507 participants aged between 20 and 92 years. Participants completed standardized measures assessing suicidality, existential concerns (including existential thinking and existential anxiety), and wisdom. Two separate mediation analyses were conducted to examine the role of wisdom as a potential mediator in the relationships between (1) existential thinking and suicidal behavior, and (2) existential anxiety and suicidal behavior.ResultParallel mediation analyses (controlling for age) revealed: (1) age negatively associated with suicidality and existential anxiety but positively with wisdom; (2) existential thinking positively associated to wisdom, while existential anxiety negatively associated with it; (3) wisdom was associated to lower suicidality, fully mediating existential thinking’s negative association and partially mediating existential anxiety’s positive association with suicidality.ConclusionThe protective role of wisdom against suicidal behavior points to possible directions for support and intervention, highlighting the necessity of psychological and philosophical approaches that increase people’s wisdom as a defense against suicidal thoughts and existential distress.

To comprehend how narrative strategies and language handle and critique societal issues, this study looks at the stylistic elements of Mohammed Hanif's Our Lady of Alice Bhatti and Don DeLillo's White Noise. The study examines how these authors address universal topics like identity and mortality while representing their distinct cultural backgrounds by concentrating on components like diction, imagery, and symbolism. DeLillo uses hyperreal images and fractured storytelling to condemn consumerism and existential anxiety in Western civilization. However, Hanif draws attention to social injustices in postcolonial Pakistan, such as gender discrimination and corruption, through satire and religious symbolism. The study demonstrates how these strategies are adapted to their particular cultural contexts while highlighting both works' postmodern components, such as irony and the fusion of realism and surrealism. Research advances literary studies by encouraging intercultural understanding and illustrating how stylistic innovation can address social and existential challenges. It highlights how literature can connect disparate cultural viewpoints and question social norms, providing insightful analysis of Pakistani and American fiction.

Islamic boarding schools (pondok pesantren) play a strategic role in shaping students' character and religious attitudes, which are reflected not only in adherence to religious rituals but also in the ability to internalize spiritual values in daily life. However, not all students are able to develop religious attitudes optimally. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of the existential-humanistic counseling approach in enhancing students' religious character at Pondok Pesantren Al Khalifah. A literature review method with a qualitative approach was used, involving guidance and counseling teachers and students as the primary subjects. The findings indicate that the existential-humanistic counseling approach—emphasizing empathetic counselor-student relationships, unconditional acceptance, and the enhancement of self-awareness—is effective in helping students understand personal responsibility and freedom in practicing religious teachings. This approach also encourages deep exploration of life’s meaning and spiritual values, fostering authentic and meaningful religious attitudes. Furthermore, it supports students in dealing with existential anxiety and facilitates the conscious internalization of Islamic teachings with a strong sense of accountability. In conclusion, existential-humanistic counseling significantly contributes to the development of strong, independent, and devout religious character within the pesantren educational context.

ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the relationship between existential anxiety, secondary traumatic stress, and psychological resilience levels among individuals working in emergency response teams following natural disasters. This study employed a cross-sectional and descriptive design, involving 127 public employees who were part of the emergency response teams working during the 6 February 2023, earthquake in Turkey. A highly significant negative relationship was found between the existential anxiety level and the short psychological resilience level of the emergency response workers included in the study (r = -0.656, p < 0.05). A strong negative correlation was found between secondary traumatic stress levels and short psychological resilience levels (r = -0.367, p < 0.05). A positive and significant correlation was found between existential anxiety and secondary traumatic stress (r = 0.499, p < 0.05). Low psychological resilience after disaster response is significantly associated with high existential anxiety and increased secondary traumatic stress levels. It is recommended that emergency response teams receive protective and empowering mental health services from mental health professionals to help them cope functionally with trauma.

This study aimed to explore how social media use relates to parasocial interactions and existential anxiety in adolescents. It was hypothesized that there would be a connection between social media usage, parasocial interactions, and existential anxiety in this age group. To investigate this, a cross-sectional research design was implemented. Researchers used multistage sampling to select a sample of 700 students from private schools and colleges in the Gujranwala district of Punjab, Pakistan. Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (SMEQ) by Przybylski et al. (2013), the Celebrity Persona Parasocial Interaction Scale (CPPI) by Bocarnea (2007) and the Existential Anxiety Questionnaire (EAQ) by Weems et al. (2004) were used for data collection. Correlation and regression analyses were performed, using SPSS Version 24 for statistical analysis. The Cronbach alpha showed that social media has a positive correlation with parasocial interaction (r = .36, p &lt; .01), while social media usage do not show a significant relationship with existential anxiety (r = .01, p ˃ .01). Further, parasocial interaction was negatively correlated with existential anxiety (r = –.09, p &lt; .05). Regression analysis result shown that social media usage significantly predicts parasocial interaction F (1, 698) = 102.58, p &lt; .001, and have 13% of the variance (R² = .13). In contrast, social media engagement did not significantly predict existential anxiety, F (1, 698) = 0.12, p = .73, R² = .00. However, parasocial interaction was a significant negative predictor of existential anxiety, F (1, 698) = 5.50, p = .019, accounting for less than 1% of the variance (R² = .008). It was concluded that social media usage was related to parasocial interaction and increase in parasocial interaction leads to decrease the existential anxiety. The results of this study add in comprehending these phenomena among Pakistani adolescents, highlighting the impact of social media usage on parasocial interactions and existential anxiety.

This article investigates the persistence of extraterrestrial “living among us” narratives as cultural constructs rather than empirical claims, situating them within the intersections of mythology, sociology of religion, folklore, psychology, and media studies. Using a narrative review with interdisciplinary synthesis, the study analyses historical cosmologies, modern UFOlogy, conspiracy cultures, and digital-era belief communities. Sources include recent peer-reviewed scholarship, folklore archives, government reports, and media artefacts. Analytical approaches combine discourse analysis of testimonies and online forums, comparative mythology, and thematic synthesis across sociology, psychology, and media theory. Findings reveal three continuities: first, alien narratives reproduce archetypal motifs of cosmic visitors and guides, functioning as modern myths; second, they address psychological and social needs by offering frameworks for coping with uncertainty, mistrust, and existential anxiety; and third, they are amplified by film, television, and participatory digital cultures, where UFOlogy circulates as both entertainment and folk religion. A key conclusion is the existence of an epistemological gap: while scientific institutions emphasise data and methodological rigour, popular belief validates alien presence through testimony, secrecy, and symbolic resonance. The study argues that aliens function as cultural mirrors, not scientific certainties, embodying societal anxieties while stimulating reflection on identity, otherness, and humanity’s place in the cosmos. Future research should explore corpus-linguistic patterns in alien discourse, psychological studies of belief formation, and the role of artificial intelligence in shaping extraterrestrial imagery.

Utilizing the framework of ethical literary criticism, this study analyzes Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence (2001). The film depicts a climate-ravaged future where David, a childlike robot, is adopted and then abandoned by a human family. His quest to become a “real boy” via the Blue Fairy serves as a narrative core to examine human-robot ethics. The analysis investigates the characters’ ethical predicaments and choices, and explores three core ethical issues: the “human-object” dichotomy framing robots as commodities; human suspicion and hatred toward robots driven by economic competition and existential anxiety; and the subversion of ethical identities as robots assume familial roles. Key findings reveal that: first, despite robotic anthropomorphism, the human-robot relationship remains a hierarchical “subject-object” dynamic; second, the subversion of traditional ethical identities leads to an unresolved ethical predicament in human-robot relationships; and third, David’s choices—from imitation to asserting uniqueness—constitute genuine ethical selection, marking his transformation into a being with emergent self-awareness. This research not only expands the application of ethical literary criticism into science fiction film studies but also provides valuable reflections for addressing ethical challenges in real-world AI development.

The question of how to properly understand and proactively respond to life and death is a fundamental human concern and a core topic in both philosophical and religious studies. Seventeenth-century Chinese philosopher Fang Yizhi (1611–1671) held a unique perspective on this issue, yet his insights have received little scholarly attention. Employing a methodology of textual comparison and logical analysis, this study systematically examines Fang Yizhi’s discourse on life and death. Grounded in the framework of the “Unity of Heaven and Humanity,” (tianren heyi 天人合一) he utilized dialectical modes of thought such as “primary and complementary” (zhengyu 正余) and “inverse causality” (fanyin 反因) to view life and death as categories that are not only mutually antithetical but also capable of mutual transformation. He further substantiated this view with a Confucian-style ontological grounding. Furthermore, this paper outlines the methods he proposed for the liberation of those lost in the sea of life-and-death anxiety. The findings underscore the enduring relevance of Fang Yizhi’s philosophy of life and death in addressing modern existential anxieties and encouraging a more positive and proactive approach to life.

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores the existential dimensions of youths’ lived experiences in residential care through an existential – phenomenological approach. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observations with 16 youths in Swedish residential care, the study investigates how young people navigate existential concerns such as freedom, anxiety, and meaning within an institutional context. The findings indicate that the experience of being in care is marked by a fundamental uncertainty, shaped by both structural conditions and existential challenges. This uncertainty was interpreted through three themes: reorientation and change, transience and impermanence, and discerning and situating freedom. The study concludes that existential anxiety and uncertainty are deeply intertwined in youths’ everyday lives in care, often manifesting as ambivalence, disconnection, and a struggle to make sense of agency and time. To address these challenges, the study proposes that combining phenomenological methods with existential theory offers valuable insights for practitioners working with institutionalized youths. This perspective encourages professionals to engage with existential questions as part of care practices, supporting youths’ meaning-making in times of instability and transition.

Although illocutionary speech acts have been extensively studied in everyday and institutional discourse, their application in cinematic narratives remains underexplored. Existing pragmatic research on film dialogue has primarily focused on genre conventions or general speech act patterns, leaving a gap in understanding how illocutionary force constructs character identity and emotional conflict in creative storytelling. This study investigates the illocutionary acts employed by Jonathan Larson, the protagonist in Tick, Tick… Boom!, a Netflix original musical that dramatizes the tension between personal ambition and existential anxiety. Drawing on Searle’s taxonomy, the research adopts a qualitative approach to analyze 76 representative utterances from the film script and scenes, identifying and categorizing illocutionary force. The results reveal four types of illocutionary acts: directives (42.5%), assertives (26.7%), expressives (22.3%), and commissives (6.6%), with directives as the most dominant. These findings suggest that Larson’s linguistic behavior is driven largely by attempts to influence, persuade, and seek validation from others. By situating speech act theory within cinematic pragmatics, this study contributes to a growing body of interdisciplinary research and offers insights for scholars examining language use in media narratives. Future research may consider integrating locutionary and perlocutionary dimensions for a fuller account.

ABSTRACT Religion is a powerful social force. Although devotion is multiply affected by a host of motivational and contextual features and can be expressed in a multitude of domains, I explore the existential motivations for religious devotion. Accordingly, I propose that religious devotion is (partially) driven by a desire to satisfy existential concerns; that is, religion is an existential resource. Its ability to effectively manage existential anxiety creates a self-reinforcing cycle where religious devotion is strengthened over time. Given the changing religious landscape in the United States and around the world, people may seek out new objects of devotion as a means of satisfying deep spiritual yearnings or longing for existential meaning outside of religious structures.

ABSTRACT This essay provides a critical overview of historical and contemporary conceptualisations of selfhood in dementia. We explore the intersections of psychological and sociological research, as well as care practices, in dementia scholarship and how these have evolved in the years leading to and proceeding the start of the twenty-first century. Focusing on historical discourses of dementia and the metaphor of dementia as a ‘living death’, this essay maps the development of prominent conceptualisations of dementia in western cultures, from their roots in Cartesian philosophy to modernist values and existential anxieties. We firstly explore historical notions of selfhood in people living with dementia and the presumed erosion of the self that culminates in a so-called living death. Then, we discuss the radical shift in attitudes that arose around the start of the twenty-first century towards perseverance of selfhood in dementia and person-centred care. We finally consider whether our current understanding of selfhood in dementia could benefit from a posthuman approach, which requires a radical shift towards a more relational, multiple, and ultimately affirmative ways of caring for dementia.

The 2022 television series Interview with the Vampire takes Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles novels to the screen with a twist: the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac offers an updated interview to the human writer Daniel Malloy, promising to tell the full truth of his romance with vampiremaker Lestat de Lioncourt, and their tumultuous life together with the teenage vampire Claudia. This adaptation diverges from the source material by featuring Louis and Claudia as Black characters. Though Claudia initially enters the narrative as a cliche – the child that will soothe Louis’ existential anxieties and her parents’ turbulent relationship – she develops an insatiable and excessive demonstration of Black femme that inspired one of my drag performances. Through my performance and this reflection, I tarry with Claudia her own suspended state of Black adolescence, as a blatant excess of Black girlhood and queer femme-ininity. Claudia’s ambivalent vampiric body, dress and adornment, and shifting relationships within her coven speak to an excessiveness in living through a visuality of trespass, femme (in)authenticity, and liberatory expression. By dragging out the time of relationality through her perpetual adolescence, Claudia performs Black femme escape from compulsory majoritarian life.

Abstract This paper explores the phenomenon of ‘high’ birth rates among Syrian refugees in Lebanon, framed as, in their own words, “a human instinctive response to a profound fear of extinction.” Drawing from the concept of existential anxiety, theories of trauma and cultural identity theory, as well as on qualitative data from interviews with 278 Syrian refugees, the study delves into the psychological and sociocultural factors that underpin this demographic trend. It highlights how, against the backdrop of protracted displacement and uncertainty, many Syrian refugees perceive high fertility as a strategy for cultural and familial survival. The paper examines the intersection of trauma, displacement, and reproductive behaviour, revealing a complex narrative where fears of loss, erasure, and the desire to preserve identity manifest through increased birth rates. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of refugee experiences, shedding light on how existential fears shape reproductive decisions and challenging conventional perspectives on population growth within refugee communities.

Abstract Sylvia Plath's 1956–63 poetry is marked by an oneiric quality that vividly captures the fluid identities of her characters. This surreal atmosphere is expressed through metaphysical imagery, rich symbolism, and disorienting juxtapositions, which reflect the characters' internal turmoil and fragmented sense of self. Central to Plath's poetic exploration is the notion of existential anxiety, as articulated by the early Heidegger, and bad faith, as expressed by Sartre. Plath's characters grapple with the tension between their fluid selves and the static roles imposed upon them by the Heideggerian everyday world, striving to achieve a sense of authentic existence amidst pervasive anxiety. The fluctuating perceptions of identity in Plath's poetry are represented in two distinct ways. The I/eye either destabilizes the poetic world to mirror the characters' fluid identities or clings to solid surroundings, often with stone imagery, for reassurance. Both modes of representation illustrate the characters' struggle for authenticity and their grappling with bad faith. Plath's work, thus, becomes a poignant commentary on the quest for an authentic self in the face of existential anxiety, using surrealist elements to transcend the everyday world and underscore the profound dissonance between appearance and reality, as well as the perpetual search for meaning and stability.

This study aims to explore the representation of death and its influence on human behavior in Adam Silvera's novel They Both Die at the End through Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic approach. In the novel, the call of the "Death-Cast", which informs people of their last day, functions as a trigger for the primacy of death, a condition that increases existential anxiety and psychological tension. This study uses qualitative methods to examine the responses of two main characters, Mateo and Rufus, to the certainty of death they face by examining the dynamics of the id, ego, and superego. In addition, the study also highlights how defense mechanisms such as repression, rationalization, and sublimation are used by both characters as a way to deal with emotional stress. The findings show that awareness of death drives significant psychological changes, such as Mateo, who was initially introverted but developed into a more open and honest person with himself, while Rufus experienced a shift from impulsive and aggressive attitudes to deeper self-understanding and warmer relationships. This transformation reflects the inner conflict between unconscious drives, moral values, and the role of the ego in mediating the two.

ABSTRACT Purpose Exploring how patients with acute and/or chronic illnesses experience symptoms. Methods Using a phenomenological approach, interviews were conducted with patients to gain insights into their lived experiences and the meanings they attribute to symptoms. Phenomenological concepts of lifeworld, body and embodiment, intentionality, and existential anxiety provide lenses for examining the realities of patients’ experiences. Results Three central themes emerged from the Ricoeur inspired analysis: Perception of an altered body presence, which highlights how illness transforms the perception of the body from a “silent” part of the self to an intrusive presence; Symptoms as a threat to existence, illuminating how symptoms confront patients with vulnerability, mortality, and existential uncertainty; and Loss and reclaiming of control, describing the ongoing struggle patients face between feelings of helplessness and efforts to regain autonomy in daily life.Symptoms are not merely indicators of illness but are intertwined with patients’ identities and their sense of meaning in life. Conclusion Insights emphasize the importance of addressing both the biological and existential dimensions of symptoms. Face-to-face clinical encounters offer a shared opportunity to create reflective spacesValidating coping strategies and supporting patients in reclaiming control, clinicians can nurture resilience, dignity, and a comprehensive approach to symptom (self)management.

Poetry is a form of literary work rich in meaning, symbolism, and aesthetics. One prominent example that embodies the power of poetic expression is “Doa” (“Prayer”) by Chairil Anwar. This poem not only presents a deeply personal spiritual longing but also reflects the existential anxiety of humanity within its socio-cultural context. This study aims to analyze “Doa” using structural and pragmatic approaches to gain a comprehensive understanding of its meaning and function. The research employs a qualitative method based on literature review, focusing on textual analysis and relevant scholarly sources. Structurally, the poem is composed of simple yet powerful diction, religious imagery, and a style rich in symbolism and emotion. The central theme revolves around the search for the meaning of life and submission to God. Meanwhile, the pragmatic approach reveals how the poem evokes reflective and spiritual effects on its readers, demonstrating its interpretive flexibility across different social and emotional backgrounds. Therefore, “Doa” is a poem that is not only aesthetically beautiful but also spiritually and socially relevant across generations.

ABSTRACT Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day prominently engages with themes of senescence and illness, yet gerontological perspectives remain underutilized in existing scholarship. This paper addresses this oversight by analyzing the aging process and physical deterioration as embodied by Stevens, his father, and Miss Kenton. The protagonist’s confrontation with advancing age and diminishing faculties mirroring his father’s decline, provoking profound existential distress regarding his own mortality. Lord Darlington’s self-inflicted death, precipitated by diminished social standing, further intensifies Stevens’ existential anxiety and uncertainty about life’s meaning. His subsequent travels facilitate an introspective reckoning, culminating in personal insight and psychological renewal – a narrative arc that positions the work within the Reifungsroman framework of late-life development. Employing literary gerontology as an analytical lens, this article interrogates Ishiguro’s nuanced depiction of aging, countering reductive decline paradigms, reconceptualizing later life as a period of contemplative growth and renewed self-discovery, thereby enriching gerontological discussions about meaning-making in advanced age, offering a nuanced perspective on its complexities and potential. By doing so, this article contributes to gerontological discourse, highlighting the possibilities for meaning and purpose in later life.