EXPLORING DIVINE HIDDENNESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THEISTIC EXISTENTIAL CRISIS

Abstract

Existential crises, referred to as inner conflicts, are characterized by identity confusion and meaninglessness. Tension and anxiety accompany them, often to the point where they produce melancholy and make it difficult to go about everyday tasks. Their negative outlook on meaning is reminiscent of some elements of the existentialist intellectual movement. It is possible to categories existential crises' emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects. Emotional components include emotions like emotional discomfort, helplessness, despair, guilt, concern, or loneliness. The issue of insignificance, the erosion of one's spiritual beliefs or personal values, and death anxiety are examples of cognitive components. Among the behavioral components are addictions, which encompass antisocial and obsessive behavior. A person may have existential crises during any time, including adolescence, midlife, older life, and quarter-life. Early crises are typically forward-looking, with the person feeling uncertain and scared about their future course in terms of education, work, identity, and social connections. Subsequent crises are typically retroactive. They are typically accompanied by feelings of regret, humiliation, and fear of dying and are frequently sparked by the idea that one is past one's prime. It is easier for a person to resolve or avoid further existential crises if a previous crisis was well resolved. Existential crises do not occur to everyone.