Anxiety, instead of a symptom to be removed, is a gateway to the meaning of life - to be explored. Pathologizing anxiety, or trying to run away from it, is not always constructive.
Human knowledge of our inevitable death gives us normal anxiety. Ezra Bayda describes the felt sense of aliveness as "the anxious quiver of being."
Anxiety is a stimulus toward creativity and courage. Existential awareness tells us to get the most out of these years that we are alive. "Genuine growth comes from confronting the pain
of existence rather than escaping into banal pleasures or shallow,
positive thinking. Genuine joy can emerge from an appreciation
of life's agonies."
Rollo May, existential psychologist, being interviewed
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