"Existential dread is that heavy, unsettling feeling you get when you confront the “big questions” head-on — questions like:
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What’s the point of all this?
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Why am I here?
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Does any of it really matter, if I’m going to die anyway?
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Is there any solid meaning, or is it all just chaos and chance?
It’s different from everyday anxiety. Ordinary anxiety might be about money, work, relationships. Existential dread cuts deeper: it’s the vertigo of realizing that life might not come with built-in meaning, purpose, or guarantees.
Philosophers like Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, and Camus all circled this idea. For some, dread (Angst) was even useful — a signal that you’re awake to the freedom and responsibility of shaping your life, instead of sleepwalking through it.
In short: existential dread is the raw awareness of our freedom, mortality, and the possible meaninglessness of existence — and the discomfort that comes with staring that in the face."
