Unmasking Human Nature, One Flaw at a Time
🚨 Lexi’s Take: The Flaw in Focus
Sarcasm Probability Alert: Caution: This newsletter may cause sudden awareness that your 3 AM “What’s the point of anything?” thoughts aren’t actually that profound. Side effects may include questioning your life choices, deleting TikTok, and the dangerous urge to actually find meaning instead of just complaining about its absence.
Listen, I’ll be straight with you—nothing makes me want to throw my laptop out the window quite like watching someone post “Having an existential crisis LOL 😂” while simultaneously doom-scrolling through their fourth hour of apocalyptic TikToks. But here’s the thing that’ll really bake your noodle: those moments when you’re lying awake at 2 AM wondering if your entire existence amounts to nothing more than a cosmic accident with a Netflix subscription? That’s not just millennial melodrama. That’s your brain doing exactly what it’s supposed to do when faced with the overwhelming absurdity of modern life.
[Sips coffee with the intensity of a 19th-century philosopher contemplating mortality]
The brutal truth is that existential crises aren’t character flaws—they’re feature updates. Think of them as your psyche’s way of saying, “Hey dummy, maybe there’s more to life than scrolling through other people’s highlight reels while eating cereal at 11 PM.” But here’s where it gets messy: we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that questioning the meaning of life is either a luxury for privileged twenty-somethings or a sign that we’re fundamentally broken.
Neither is true, and both assumptions are keeping us stuck in cycles of meaninglessness that make actual zombies look emotionally engaged.
“An existential crisis isn’t a breakdown—it’s a breakthrough dressed as a panic attack.”
As the ancient Stoics knew (and modern research confirms), the unexamined life isn’t worth living, but the over-examined life isn’t worth living either. The sweet spot? Learning to surf the waves of existential uncertainty without drowning in them or pretending they don’t exist.
📊 What the Research Reveals
The Doomscroll-to-Despair Pipeline
Recent groundbreaking research from 2024 has finally given us the scientific receipts on what many of us suspected: our digital habits are literally rewiring our brains for existential dread. A comprehensive study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports found that “doomscrolling was associated with existential anxiety in both Iranian and American samples,” with researchers noting that this excessive consumption of negative content creates “a feeling of dread or panic that arises when we confront the limitations of our existence.”
Source: Rexa, S., et al. (2024). “Doomscrolling evokes existential anxiety and fosters pessimism about human nature.” Computers in Human Behavior Reports. ★★★★★
But wait, there’s more! The research reveals that doomscrolling makes people “more likely to feel suspicious and distrustful of other people and form the impression that life lacks meaning.” So basically, we’re training our brains to believe that humanity sucks and nothing matters. Cool. Cool cool cool.
Source: Flinders University. (2024). “Can doomscrolling trigger an existential crisis?” ScienceDaily. ★★★★☆
The Post-Pandemic Meaning Vacuum
Research specifically examining young adults shows that “with the COVID-19 pandemic, the EC [existential crisis] on humankind has further increased across the world.” Translation: The global timeout we all experienced made us collectively realize that maybe, just maybe, the rat race we’d been running wasn’t actually going anywhere meaningful.
Source: Kumar, A., et al. (2022). “Determinants of Existential Crisis Among Young Adults.” ResearchGate. ★★★★☆
The Silver Lining Science
Here’s where it gets interesting: Mental health experts now recognize that “an existential crisis means we have the opportunity to get back in touch with our values, meaning, and purpose and with what we want to make of our lives.” In other words, that terrifying void you’re staring into? It might just be the blank canvas you’ve been looking for.
Source: BetterUp. (2025). “What Is an Existential Crisis, and How Do You Overcome It?” ★★★★☆
🎭 Real Talk: How This Trait Shows Up IRL
The Office Oracle of Doom
You know that colleague who responds to “How was your weekend?” with a 10-minute monologue about the meaninglessness of consumer culture? That’s existential crisis energy channeled through Monday morning small talk. They’re the ones who question every team meeting with “But what’s the point of this project in the grand scheme of things?” while everyone else just wants to know if they can expense their lunch.
[Dramatically gestures at PowerPoint slide titled “Q3 Objectives”]
The Relationship Philosopher
In romantic relationships, this shows up as the person who turns “What should we watch on Netflix?” into a deep dive about whether entertainment is just a distraction from the void. They’re not trying to be difficult—they’re genuinely grappling with whether their choices have any real significance. Dating tip: If someone asks you on the third date, “Do you think love is just a biological trick to make us reproduce?” they’re not being romantic. They’re having an existential moment.
The Social Media Sage
These are the folks posting Nietzsche quotes at 3 AM, sharing articles about the heat death of the universe, and responding to happy birthday wishes with “Another year closer to the grave, but thanks!” They’ve turned their Instagram into an existential journal, and honestly? Sometimes their midnight philosophical rants hit harder than they should.
“Existential crisis: When ‘Netflix and chill’ becomes ‘Netflix and contemplate the futility of human existence.'”
The Career Questioner
They’re the ones who quit their corporate job to “find themselves,” only to realize that finding yourself is significantly harder when you’re broke and living with roommates at 35. Every career move becomes a referendum on their entire life philosophy. “Should I take this promotion?” turns into “Am I just perpetuating a capitalist system that crushes the human spirit?”
⚠️ Why It Matters (and How It Hurts)
Personal Wellbeing: The Paralysis Problem
Existential crises create “inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning and by confusion about one’s personal identity,” often accompanied by “anxiety and stress, often to such a degree that they disturb one’s normal functioning in everyday life and lead to depression.”
When you’re constantly questioning the point of everything, decision-making becomes torture. Should you meal prep for the week when the universe is ultimately heading toward entropy? The logical brain knows these questions are disproportionate, but the existential brain doesn’t care about logic.
Relationship Consequences: The Meaning-Making Mismatch
Nothing kills a vibe quite like someone turning a lighthearted conversation into a philosophical dissertation on the meaninglessness of human connection. Research shows that existential anxiety makes people “more likely to feel suspicious and distrustful of other people,” creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where questioning the meaning of relationships actually damages them.
Workplace Productivity: The Purpose Paralysis
When every task feels cosmically insignificant, motivation dies. Teams with existentially-spiraling members often find themselves trapped in endless philosophical discussions about the “why” behind their work, while deadlines approach and competitors move forward. It’s the difference between asking good questions about purpose and getting lost in an infinite loop of meaninglessness.
Societal Implications: The Collective Void
Research shows that “younger generations worldwide are facing new and unprecedented risks” related to existential concerns, creating what experts call a “meaning recession.” When entire demographics are simultaneously questioning the point of traditional life paths, social structures start to wobble.
[Waves tiny flag of millennial resistance]
🛠️ Fix the Flaw: Tips & Tactics
The 3-2-1 Action Framework
3 Awareness Builders: Spot the Trait in Yourself/Others
First, recognize the difference between healthy existential questioning and destructive spiral thinking. Healthy questioning leads to action or acceptance; destructive spiraling leads to paralysis and despair. Notice when your “deep thoughts” are actually just anxiety dressed up as philosophy.
Second, track your digital consumption patterns. Since “doomscrolling evokes greater levels of existential anxiety,” monitoring your news intake is crucial. If you’re consuming more negative content than positive or neutral content, you’re literally programming your brain for existential dread.
Third, identify your meaning-making triggers. What situations, conversations, or environments tend to spiral you into existential questioning? Is it Sunday nights? Social media? Certain people? Awareness is the first step toward conscious choice.
2 Immediate Interventions: What to Do Right Now
Intervention 1: The Meaning Anchor Technique When existential spiraling starts, immediately identify three things that felt meaningful to you in the past week. Not profound, universe-changing meaningful—just personally meaningful. Maybe it was helping a friend, creating something, or having a good conversation. This grounds you in experienced meaning rather than abstract philosophy.
Intervention 2: The Action Bypass Instead of thinking your way out of existential anxiety, act your way out. Choose one small action that aligns with any value you hold, even if you’re questioning that value. Movement creates momentum, and momentum often generates meaning.
1 Long-term Strategy: Systematic Behavior Change
Build a Personal Meaning Portfolio
Research suggests that existential crises provide “the opportunity to get back in touch with our values, meaning, and purpose.” Create a diversified portfolio of meaning sources: relationships, creative pursuits, service to others, personal growth, and work that matters to you. This way, when one area feels meaningless, others can provide stability.
“Meaning isn’t something you find lying around—it’s something you build, brick by brick, choice by choice.”
Develop what philosophers call “existential fitness”—the ability to sit with uncertainty without needing immediate answers. Practice tolerating the question “What’s the point?” without needing to solve it immediately. Sometimes the question itself is more valuable than any answer you could force.
Evidence-Based Strategies:
- Meaning-Making Journaling: Write about three things daily that felt purposeful, no matter how small. Research shows this builds resilience against existential anxiety.
- Values Clarification Exercises: Identify your core values and make at least one choice daily that aligns with them.
- Digital Boundaries: Limit doom-scrolling to 15 minutes daily, and balance negative news consumption with positive or solution-focused content.
🚩 Watch Out For…
The Philosophy Bypass
When someone uses existential questioning to avoid taking responsibility for their choices. “Nothing matters anyway” becomes an excuse for not trying, not caring, or not showing up for the people who depend on them.
The Profundity Performance
Watch for people who use existential angst as a way to appear deep or intellectually superior. Their crisis isn’t genuine—it’s a persona. Real existential questioning is usually quieter and more personal.
The Spiral Accelerators
Certain behaviors make existential crises worse: excessive social media use, isolation, substance abuse, and rumination without action. These create a feedback loop where questioning leads to more questioning without any resolution or growth.
The Meaning Gatekeeping
Some people in existential crisis become dismissive of others who seem to have found meaning in “simple” things. They’ll mock someone’s enthusiasm for their garden or their family, suggesting that only their level of cosmic questioning is “real” thinking.
[Proceeds to overthink the implications of overthinking for 3-5 business days]
📈 Visual Decode
The Existential Crisis Spectrum
| Healthy Questioning | Destructive Spiraling |
|---|---|
| Leads to exploration and growth | Leads to paralysis and depression |
| Time-limited episodes | Chronic, ongoing state |
| Generates new perspectives | Reinforces hopelessness |
| Connects to values and action | Disconnects from life engagement |
| Asks “How can I create meaning?” | Asks “What’s the point anyway?” |
🔍 Mini-Assessment: Rate Your Existential Fitness
On a scale of 1-5, how much do you agree with these statements?
• I can sit with uncertainty without needing immediate answers (1=Never, 5=Always) • I have multiple sources of meaning in my life (1=None, 5=Many) • I can question life’s meaning without losing hope (1=Never, 5=Always) • I take action even when I’m not sure of the “point” (1=Never, 5=Always)
Scoring:
- 16-20: Existential Ninja 🥷
- 12-15: Meaning Explorer 🧭
- 8-11: Crisis Navigator 🌊
- 4-7: Void Gazer 🕳️
📚 Source List & Verification Links
- Rexa, S., et al. (2024). “Doomscrolling evokes existential anxiety and fosters pessimism about human nature.” Computers in Human Behavior Reports. ★★★★★ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245195882400071X
- Harvard Health Publishing. (2024). “Doomscrolling dangers.” ★★★★★ https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/doomscrolling-dangers
- Flinders University. (2024). “Can doomscrolling trigger an existential crisis?” ScienceDaily. ★★★★☆ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240718124709.htm
- BetterUp. (2025). “What Is an Existential Crisis, and How Do You Overcome It?” ★★★★☆ https://www.betterup.com/blog/what-is-an-existential-crisis
- Kumar, A., et al. (2022). “Determinants of Existential Crisis Among Young Adults.” ResearchGate. ★★★★☆ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361641087_DETERMINANTS_OF_EXISTENTIAL_CRISIS_AMONG_YOUNG_ADULTS
- Positive Psychology. (2025). “Existential Crisis: How to Cope with Meaninglessness.” ★★★★☆ https://positivepsychology.com/existential-crisis/
- Healthline. (2024). “Existential Anxiety: Symptoms, Treatment, and More.” ★★★★☆ https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/existential-anxiety
- Berkeley Initiative for Young Americans. (2023). “The world is facing an existential crisis.” ★★★☆☆ https://youngamericans.berkeley.edu/2023/11/the-world-is-facing-an-existential-crisis-an-emerging-paradigm-driven-by-young-people-could-show-us-the-way-out/
🎯 Mission: Possible
Level 1: Micro-Practice (2-3 minutes) Right now, identify one thing you did today that felt even slightly meaningful. Write it down. Don’t overthink it—maybe you made someone laugh, solved a problem, or just chose kindness over indifference. That’s your proof that meaning isn’t a cosmic revelation; it’s a daily practice.
Level 2: Weekly Challenge (15-20 minutes) Create what I call a “Meaning Menu”—a list of 10 activities that historically have felt purposeful to you. Include a mix: creative stuff, social connections, acts of service, learning opportunities, and physical activities. When existential anxiety hits, consult your menu instead of spiraling into philosophical quicksand.
Level 3: Deep Dive Project (ongoing) Start building what researchers call “existential resilience” by developing a personal philosophy that can hold both meaning and uncertainty. This isn’t about finding THE answer to life’s purpose—it’s about getting comfortable with provisional answers that can evolve. Write your current best guess about what makes life worth living, then revisit and revise it monthly.
[Adjusts imaginary beret and contemplates the eternal dance between chaos and order]
Remember: The goal isn’t to eliminate existential questioning—it’s to make it productive instead of paralyzing. You can absolutely ponder the mysteries of existence without losing your ability to function, connect, and contribute.
Next week, we’re diving into the psychology of people who turn every conversation into a competition. Spoiler alert: it’s exhausting for everyone involved, including them.
Stay curious, stay grounded, and for the love of all that’s meaningful—maybe limit the 3 AM philosophy sessions to weekends only.
Lexi ✨
P.S. If you found yourself nodding along to this newsletter, forward it to that friend who’s been asking “What’s the point?” since 2019. They need the reminder that questioning everything doesn’t have to mean appreciating nothing.
Dark Side Digest: Unmasking Human Nature, One Flaw at a Time | Helping you navigate the beautiful mess of being human
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