Implicații ale lipsei de sens în manifestările anxietății

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to analyze, from an existential perspective, the sources of anxiety and depression in modern humans. Throughout time, both the phenomenon of anxiety and depression have been experienced and approached as a maladjustment of the individual to the external world, as their inability to create a balance between the external and internal worlds. Each citizen of our society realizes, based on their own experience and observation of others, that anxiety and depression are omnipresent. We are becoming increasingly aware not only of the obvious situations that create anxiety and depression in our days, such as threats of war, uncontrolled atomic bombs, and radical political and economic upheavals, but also of the less evident yet extremely profound ones, namely inner confusion, psychological disorientation, and uncertainty regarding acceptable behavioral standards. Despite anxiety and depression becoming a central issue in some cultural dimensions of our existence, often the approach of these problems has been hindered by the lack of coordination between theories and approaches. In this regard, one of the remarkable and highly useful works in creating an integrative view of anxiety is Rollo May's book, "The Meaning of Anxiety," which we will frequently cite in the chapter dedicated to anxiety. Thus, the work discusses and analyzes the concept of "meaning and purpose in one's own life" and how its existence or absence influences an individual's ability to experience a state of mental balance. Throughout this thesis, we will review the main approaches and theories regarding anxiety and depression to have a broader perspective on the evolution of their understanding both psychologically and in terms of inner experience. We aim to highlight the usefulness and contribution of integrative existential analysis in supporting psychotherapy regarding the approach to anxiety and depression. The methodological support towards the connection between the experience of existential meaning, anxiety, and depression will be addressed in the dedicated chapter, in which we intend to analyze the relationship between these three variables and how they influence each other.