An existential view of anxiety. The existential-analytical approach to comprehension and therapy of anxiety

Journal/Book: Psychother Psychosom Med Psyc. 1997; 47: P O Box 30 11 20, D-70451 Stuttgart, Germany. Georg Thieme Verlag. 227-233.

Abstract: From the existential analytical point of view, anxiety is considered to be a basic theme of existence. The experience of being threatened is most commonly related to the physical and material aspects of life. But on a deeper level anxiety deals with the search for foundational and supporting structures for existence. When one loses the sense of safety, of being held and of having shelter in a world that does not offer ultimate securities, one is prone to anxiety. Anxiety can therefore be perceived as a subjective parameter of feeling threatened in the existential structures. This paper gives an outline of an existential analytical approach to the understanding of fear and anxiety, a basic classification of anxieties, and an overview of the following specific methods of an existential treatment: search for foundational structures of existence, personal position-taking, dereflexion (Frankl) and paradoxical intention (Frankl).

Note: Article Langle A, Eduard Suess Gasse 10, A-1150 Vienna, AUSTRIA

Keyword(s): anxiety; fear; phobia; existential approach

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