Introduction
It’s that feeling you get late at night, the house is quiet, and your phone’s finally away. A weird, heavy feeling descends upon your chest. It’s not exactly sadness, and it suggests more than worry. It’s an anchor in deep, disturbing feelings about the world, about your place in i,t and the vast and uncertain future.
And there’s a word for this feeling: angst.
The word itself can sound dramatic, even a bit old-fashioned, conjuring up images of brooding poets and existential philosophers. But angst is a deeply human experience. It’s that existential knot in your stomach when you wrestle with life’s big questions. Why are we here? Am I doing enough? What does it all mean?
The Everyday Face of Angst
But it isn’t always about staring into the abyss. It often appears in smaller, more recognizable forms. It’s the sense of overwhelming apprehension that keeps you lying awake at night, afraid of another dissatisfactory workweek being ignited in the morning. It’s that disquieting feeling when, every time you scroll through social media and glimpse these curated lives whose purposes are so much clearer than yours.
Imagine the recent graduate, diploma in hand, confronting a world of infinite choices that now feels curiously paralyzing. You know: The mix of sheer terror and absolute glee? That’s angst. Or think about a new parent, full of love for her child and terror at the world she has created him in. That is, as well, a kind of angst. It’s the sensation of a small boat on a very, very big ocean.
This sensation is evidence that you are meditating very deeply. You are interacting with the world in a way that matters, and that’s not at all a bad thing. It shows you care.
A Catalyst for Growth
So, painful though it may be, angst is a powerful engine for improving ourselves for the better. It’s a message that your true self is trying to tell you that something here isn’t quite right. Perhaps your work is not fulfilling you, a relationship is limiting you, or you have drifted from your own values. And discomfort is often the first step toward growth.
It’s that existential discomfort that makes us hunt around for explanations. This search might result in a new hobby, a career change, or an uncomfortable, honest conversation that we need to have; it could also prompt us to focus once again on what matters most. Angst forces us to confront our lives with an honesty that would otherwise be evaded. It’s a call for us to stop coasting and begin steering. So some of the most lost moments of our lives can be the very places we begin to find ourselves.
You Are Not Alone in This
One of the greatest truths about angst is that it binds us. When you “suddenly know that people’s future destruction was already lurking inside” them, spiraling ominously in the darkness of their monochrome paintings and ink sunsets, well, so are a lot of people, over time and across cultures all around the world. To look up at the stars and feel overwhelmingly small. When you’re unsure of why you’re here, this is the journey we all take.
It’s quite a profound shared experience. It’s why a sad song can be comfort, or a thoughtful movie, a feeling of being seen. It’s the middle ground we stand upon. Accepting this can take angst from a burden to be endured alone and turn it into something we share as human beings.
Navigating the Feeling
So how do we respond when angst takes up residence? Ignoring it isn’t the answer. Instead, we can practice sitting with it and listening to what it may be saying.
- Acknowledge it: Name the feeling. Tell yourself, ‘I’m feeling a lot of angst right now’. Even acknowledging it can sap its power.
- Get curious: Instead of running from the feeling, get curious! This feeling, what is it attached to? Is something specific going on, or are you just in your head too much?
- Put it: Confide in a friend you trust. Write it down in a journal. Make something — a painting, music, dinner. Moving that feeling from the head into the world can relieve a ton.
- Connect with what’s happening right now: Anxiety frequently lives in the future or the abstract. Ground yourself in the now. Go for a walk and look at the trees. Savor a cup of tea. Just focus on the physical sensations of right now.
- Take one small step. If your anxiety is telling you something needs to change, you don’t have to reinvent the whole of life overnight. Just do one easily manageable thing that goes in a more real direction.
Angst isn’t a problem to be fixed; it’s a part of life to explore. It is a sign that you are alive to the world, and that you are capable of thinking and feeling your way through it. Embrace it with curiosity and compassion, and you will find connection, meaning, and a richer understanding of yourself.
