THE THOUGHT

Fifteen years ago, I stood in an airport terminal, suitcases in hand, caught between excitement and dread.

I was leaving behind everything I knew. My language, my family, the routines of a life I had built with care. Stepping onto that plane felt like trusting the unknown, full of promise yet weighed by loss. Would I find a place for myself in this new country?

After arriving in Canada, everything felt unfamiliar. The food tasted different, the music lacked the rhythms of home, and the culture moved in ways I couldn’t follow. Even my words felt unrecognizable, as if the me who was couldn’t exist in translation. The everyday felt foreign, and I was out of place. Every conversation became an effort to piece together a new version of myself.

Relocation, more than geography, is about who you are and who you will become.

Why does change so deeply challenge our sense of self? What makes the unknown both unsettling and inspiring?

THE DIVE

The Unsettling Freedom of Being

Existential anxiety is the unease that arises from the tension between our desire for certainty and the profound uncertainty of existence. Psychologically, it stems from the realization that life is transient, inherently unpredictable, and ultimately finite. This awareness forces us to confront the fragility of certainty, leaving us grappling with questions of meaning in an unordered universe.

Philosophers like Kierkegaard and Sartre considered this anxiety a byproduct of radical freedom. To be free, they argued, is both a gift and a burden. With no predetermined meaning or set path, we must actively define ourselves through our choices, a process both exhilarating and destabilizing. This freedom places the responsibility of crafting purpose squarely on us, amplifying feelings of disorientation as we attempt to impose meaning on an indifferent reality.

From a psychological standpoint, existential anxiety interacts with identity and values. When we lack clarity about what truly matters, our sense of self becomes untethered, contributing to feelings of alienation and insignificance. By contrast, living in alignment with deeply held values can help mitigate this unease, providing a sense of coherence and authenticity in the face of uncertainty.

Paradoxically, this anxiety also offers opportunity. Rather than viewing it as a problem to solve, it invites us to see it as a call to self-awareness and growth. Existential psychotherapy suggests that by confronting life’s uncertainties, we can transform that unease into a rich source of creativity and purpose.

Perhaps existential anxiety is not a problem to solve but a paradox to embrace, less an obstacle and more a compass, the price we pay for our freedom. By learning to hold this unease, we may uncover a deeper, more purposeful way of being. What might we create when we step into this space of infinite possibility?

THE PRACTICE

Embracing the Uneasiness

Sit with your unease and notice it. Maybe it feels like a tightness in your chest or a constant worry. Ask yourself, “What is this trying to show me?”

Instead of turning away, lean in. Ask yourself meaningful questions. “What does this unease reveal about my freedom? About what I truly value?” Allow silence to unfold as feelings or thoughts emerge. It could be an old fear, an unnamed hope, or the recognition that only you can shape your path.

Where does unease show up in your life? What might happen if you saw it as a guide instead of something to resist? The paradox of freedom is both heavy and freeing. What might grow if you welcomed it?