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Existential depression is on the rise—more and more people are feeling "stuck" in life. We've compiled these resources to help you understand it and move forward.

Guide Depression Header Dr. K

"In my experience as a psychiatrist, about 1/3 of patients who are depressed will benefit substantially from an anti-depressant medication. The problem is that for [the rest] it won't help very much because the origin of their depression is different."

- Dr. K

What is existential depression?

There are essentially two reasons for depression. On the one hand, depression is caused by a malfunction of the mind—either a chemical imbalance, or cognitive distortion. In this case, medication and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be implemented to "fix" and manage the depression.

The other reason is what we refer to as existential depression, and it has more to do with how the world is becoming increasingly uncertain. People who experience this form of depression are looking at the state of the world and making a genuine, objective assessment of their future and discovering that things are not hopeful in a logical sense.

Congruent depression aligns with existential depression in that it is appropriate for your circumstances as opposed to a malfunction of the mind. It's typically caused by a genuine lack of purpose or feeling like your life is missing something important.

Think you're experiencing some form of Existential Depression?
Coaching can help you identify what's holding you back, so you can find a path forward.

Guide Depression Header Dr. K

"As a human being, there are three fundamental pieces of your existence—thoughts, emotions, and action. What we notice about people who are existentially depressed is that there is an imbalance between these."

- Dr. K

Characteristics of Existential Depression

Someone experiencing existential depression typically feels "stuck" in life. When you look to the future, you don't see any path forward, except one future—that future appears bleak and hopeless, so you see no point putting in effort to move forward. Instead you move laterally, pursuing actions that don't generate forward progress—video games, technology, etc.
 
Often this pattern of lateral movement is caused by an imbalance between your thoughts, emotions, and actions. This imbalance can present in a number of ways, including hyper cognitive overthinking, lack of follow-through, imposter syndrome, burnout, or anticipatory anxiety and the fear of taking action.
 
For example, if you spend all your time thinking, you'll never actually do anything, never experience life and the emotions it brings. So if you're feeling "stuck" and can't see a path forward, take a step back and look at your life—try to identify how you spend your time thinking, feeling, and doing, so you can start moving forward.

 

Balance - Toughts, Emotions, Actions
Guide Depression Header Dr. K

"Existential depression is skyrocketing [...] The bigger problem is that our [standard] treatments of depression don't appear to be working."

- Dr. K

Existential Depression Requires Existential Solutions

Because existential depression stems from logical and philosophical assessments of ones future, you need to take a philosophical approach to move past it. This existential problem requires an existential solution. You need to get at the root of who you are, what your purpose is in life, and then explore how these two things relate to each other. Then, you need to take action.
 
Techniques for overcoming existential depression:
 
👉 Reduce Lateral Movements: Think about all the things you do in your day that lead to nothing—video games, social media, television. Shift your work and energy toward anything that leads to anywhere, and experience more.
 
👉 Paradoxical Intention: The goal of this Logotherapy technique is to disable your anxiety. Anticipatory anxiety and fear can be getting in the way of you taking action. Paradoxical Intention asks you to do or wish for the things you fear most. In other words, it's the idea of accepting that bad things happen, and it's part of living a healthy, rhythmic life.
 
👉 Dereflection: This Logotherapy technique involves taking a step back and reflecting when something bad happens. The idea is to look at that setback in relation to your transcendental values and pivot toward something else that matters to you that is greater than this problem.
 
👉 Eastern Practices: Adopting practices like meditation and yoga can help you find more balance, discover where you want to focus your efforts, and open paths forward. Meditation can help you reflect and ease anxiety, while yoga is an activity that promotes health and balance.
 
💎 Coaching: Working with a Coach amplifies your time and effort. Our Coaches offer personalized support to help you understand what's holding you back, and improve your sense of purpose, so that you can move forward with confidence. ➡️ Match with a Coach aligned to your needs and goals.
 
Normal life is full of ups and downs. Depression locks us into static patterns of life. To break free of existential depression, you need to figure out what it is you want to become—what are your transcendental values? Take action, try something new, reflect, meditate, and accept that when a bad thing happens, it can be an opportunity to help you grow.
Guide Depression Header Dr. K

"People are struggling to find meaning in life. I had a choice between opening a clinic and developing a Coaching program. I chose the Coaching program because it's better suited to help people with transdiagnostic factors like, perfectionism, ego, identity issues, purpose, meaning."

- Dr. K

How HG Coaching Can Help

Coaching is all about building the life you want. Whether you're aiming for career growth, lifestyle changes, or personal development, coaching provides the tools, support, and strategies to get you there.
 
HG Coaching is designed to help you unlock your full potential and make lasting change. Our Coaches have a proven track record of helping clients feel more sure of their purpose and goals, while decreasing feelings of sadness and anxiety. 
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Personal Development

It’s not just about feeling better; it’s about making real progress. Coaching can help you work through the things holding you back, so that you feel more motivated to take action that aligns with your goals. 


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Professional Growth

Working with a Career Coach can help you feel more in control of your professional journey and prepared to handle challenges like imposter syndrome, burn-out, and balancing work and life. 


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Empowerment & Fulfillment

Coaching helps you explore what truly drives you. By working through obstacles and connecting with your values, you can discover a deeper sense of meaning in your life.


After 20 weeks, HG Coaching clients felt:
45%
less anxious and worried*
25%
more confident in their career*
58%
more sure of their life purpose*

 

*Compared to where they were when they started Coaching

FAQs

How do I break free from depression?

Depression is complex and can be caused by a number of issues, including mental illness, trauma, anxiety, and much more. The first step is identifying where your depression comes from, so you can take the right steps in fixing it or moving past it.

Dr. K's Guide to Mental Health is a great resources to help you better understand depression and how it's impacting your life. Our Coaching program can also help reduce negative feelings, while improving your sense of life purpose.

If your depression is being caused by more serious clinical conditions, our Mental Health Pack offers a vast repository of resources for finding help.

What are the characteristics of existential depression?

For many people experiencing existential depression, the future is "fixed" or "frozen." These people have looked at the state of the world and come to the conclusion that there is no path forward, except one future, determined and bleak.

What we notice about people experiencing existential depression is that there appears to be an imbalance between their thoughts, actions, and emotions, causing them to become stuck in a pattern of lateral movements.

Is Coaching right for me?

Coaching is all about building the life you want. Whether you're aiming for career growth, lifestyle changes, or personal development, coaching provides the tools, support, and strategies to get you there.
 
HG Coaching is designed to help you unlock your full potential and make lasting change. It's not therapy, but it provides personalized support to help you understand your mind and improve your sense of life purpose by 58% over after 20 weeks.

Check out this video to help you decide whether Coaching or Therapy is the right approach for your situation: 
 

 

What is Coaching?

Coaching is commonly defined as a process to help improve a person's performance. It is a collaborative process that helps a person change in the way they wish to change. Coaching builds awareness, empowers choice, and leads to change. HG Coaching will help you better understand how your mind works, so you can build the life you want.

This program is not meant to diagnose mental illness, prescribe medication, or be used for urgent health crises. Coaching is not therapy nor a substitute for therapy, and coaches are not licensed medical professionals.

How is Coaching different from Therapy?

According to the American Psychological Association, psychotherapy refers to any psychological service provided by a licensed professional that primarily uses forms of communication and interaction to assess, diagnose, and treat dysfunctional emotional reactions, ways of thinking, and behavior patterns.

On the other hand, coaching focuses on goal attainment, rather than decreasing symptoms or treating a disorder. It’s meant to help people utilize their own resources to expand self-understanding, enact positive behavioral changes and generate actionable solutions.

Citations

  • Fassino S, Amianto F, Ferrero A. Brief Adlerian psychodynamic psychotherapy: theoretical issues and process indicators. Panminerva Med. 2008 Jun;50(2):165-75.
  • Frankl VE. Logotherapy and existential analysis--a review. Am J Psychother. 1966 Apr;20(2):252-60. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1966.20.2.252.
  • Ghaemi SN. Feeling and time: the phenomenology of mood disorders, depressive realism, and existential psychotherapy. Schizophr Bull. 2007 Jan;33(1):122-30. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbl061. Epub 2006 Nov 22.
  • Heidenreich T, Noyon A, Worrell M, Menzies R. Existential Approaches and Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Challenges and Potential. Int J Cogn Ther. 2021;14(1):209-234. doi: 10.1007/s41811-020-00096-1. Epub 2021 Jan 4.
  • Knight ZG. A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2017 Sep;24(5):1047-1058. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2066. Epub 2017 Jan 25.
  • Roehm, G. Addiction and Individuation: An Existential-Psychodynamic Analysis. University of West Georgia ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. 2022. 29063583.
  • Scher JM. The depressions and structure: an existential approach to their understanding and treatment. Am J Psychother. 1971 Jul;25(3):369-84. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1971.25.3.369.
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Looking for More Resources on Depression?

Expand your understanding of depression with these free resources from Dr. K's Guide to Mental Health:

Clinical v Non-Clinical

The word "depression" gets tossed around a lot. What does it mean to be depressed? Is it possible to be "depressed" without being mentally ill? This video explores the differences between clinical and non-clinical depression, and provides a foundation for where to look for help.

Cognitive Depression

This video explores the origin of low motivation in the depressed mind. The depressed mind is focused on the past, experiences regret, and is inflexible, which is characterized by negative self attitude, or a perception of self that is worthless, powerless, and hopeless.

Congruent Depression

Congruent depression aligns with existential depression in that it is appropriate for your circumstances as opposed to a malfunction of the mind. It's typically caused by a genuine lack of purpose or feeling like your life is missing something important.

And check out these other videos from our YouTube Channel:

You Can't "Logic" Your Way Out of Depression

Dr. K explores why logic is not effective in treating depression and suggests that flawed assumptions and emotional processing are the underlying issues that need to be addressed.

Why You Struggle to Follow Through (Thinkers vs Doers)

Thinking too much can cause you to remain stuck in a depressive cycle. In this video, we learn the key differences between thinkers and doers and how to transform curiosity into sustained action.

How to Overcome the Cycle of Depression

The cycle of depression can trap you and prevent you from moving forward in life. In this video, Dr. K explains how depression causes cognitive biases and how to deal with them.

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