I want to talk about existential dread, which is the dread that comes from realizing we must exist on this planet.

It’s the dread that comes from the reality that even though we didn’t give consent to be here, we’re here and we’ve been thrust into existence on a planet that forces us into a system where we must figure out how to survive every day.

Existential dread is pretty common in a lot of adults today, and so are rates of people killing themselves because so many people feel like their life has no value, meaning, or purpose.

A lot of us are trying to figure out what we’re meant to do on this planet every day, how we’re supposed to survive, struggling to ever get ahead, etc.

I think a lot of the depression and hopelessness (for millennials specifically) stems from the fact that many of us did all the things we were supposed to do in terms of going to college to get an education, yet our career prospects have largely been snatched out from under us with the rise of AI.

The job market is bad. Things like rent and groceries continue increasing in price. And it makes a lot of us feel hopeless about the future, and feeling like there’s no way out.

As life continues to grow more expensive and the job market continues to get more tragic, I believe rates of suicide will continue rising.

Which is why I really want to take this time to talk about how to cope with existential dread.

I am not talking about curing existential dread because I really don’t believe there is any way to completely cure existential dread.

I read from a philosopher that to be born is to inevitably suffer.

Once you’re born, it means that you WILL suffer in this life because your life will be filled with highs and lows.

Your life will have ebbs and flows. And inevitably, you will suffer at different stages of your life. And with suffering comes existential dread slapping you in the face every once in a while.

But I do believe there are ways to drown out the noise of existential dread, even though there is no cure.

I think that it’s part of the human condition. The human condition refers to what it means to be born and exist on this planet.

The human condition refers to things that define our lives including shared experiences we all go through such as birth, love, heartbreak, grief, inner growth, death, etc.

I personally believe that instead of being paralyzed by fear, frustration, or despair over things like debt, loneliness, and other depressing scenarios, we should do everything we can to make life feel more bearable.

We should do everything we can to assign as much meaning as possible to our existence.

Because if you don’t take action steps to do that, you’ll inevitably fall into a depression because you’ll feel like life is pointless and there is absolutely no reason to be here.

And it might send you into a faith crisis, which I’ve been going through my own faith crisis off and on over the past few months. Just really questioning God and wondering why he placed me on this planet with the natural-born gift and inclination to write.

I am a writer and I love eloquently and articulately expressing myself on the page. But I feel that my gift has become somewhat of a curse because AI has come along and sort of snatched my entire career out from under me.

And I’m not the only person who has lost their career or is being threatened to lose their career to AI. The stats are proving that AI is going to take over pretty much almost everyone’s career within the next 5 to 10 years.

And it really devastates me to know that my natural born gift from God of being a writer might not be something that can financially sustain me in a predictable way that makes me feel safe anymore.

I launched my own website to earn money through ad revenue so I can still make money as a writer and I monetized my YouTube and TikTok pages so I can make money on social media.

But all independent earners and entrepreneurs know how chaotic it is to be your own boss sometimes. It offers freedom, but your income doesn’t always feel as reliable as you would hope.

So this is a long roundabout way of saying, I’ve had a lot of frustrations trying to figure out my identity and purpose on this planet with everything going on and the way the world is rapidly changing.

And it has forced me to confront some of my own deepest wounds and traumatic life events to truly compile this list of things that I sincerely believe will help people cope with existential dread.

Remain childfree

I’ll start my list of seven coping mechanisms with the first, which is remaining childfree.

I know that there are people in the world who have already decided to give birth to children, but I’m mostly just referring to those of us who have not given birth to children just yet.

I believe that opting for a childfree lifestyle is an extremely strong coping mechanism for existential dread because I have peace of mind, knowing that I’m never going to inflict the feelings of depression and despair that I occasionally have onto another un-consenting soul.

I also feel that I am capable of learning from other people‘s mistakes, and I’ve seen endless evidence from regretful parents that has been extremely helpful.

I’ve seen thousands of videos and read thousands of forum posts from people who have shared their regret about having kids and entering parenthood.

They’ve described mourning the person who they were before having kids and mourning the freedom they once had. Mourning the relaxation they once got to have on any given day.

They’ve described the pain and anguish of sending their child out into the world, knowing they can never protect their child from all the harm that can possibly happen.

And it’s true. Parents can never protect their kids from everything, and they just have to suck it up and get over it. And I don’t know if I’m capable of that.

I saw one woman specifically posting a video complaining about childfree people saying, “I don’t think you childfree people understand just how much free time you really have. It’s like y’all are on vacation every day.”

Loads of childfree people have responded to her video and flooded her comment section saying that childfree people are actually far more aware than she’s giving us credit.

We know exactly how much free time we have and we have opted for a childfree lifestyle on purpose because we’re aware that once you have a child, your life is no longer yours. Your life now revolves around the betterment of your child. And that’s not something many childfree people are willing to agree to.

That’s not to say I don’t have extreme respect for parents of the world who have embarked on the mission of parenthood. I think parents are some of the strongest people in the world and it’s a job that I am not capable of doing myself. I can own that and I can admit that.

I do personally feel that my life is already marred with its own list of challenges and it would only get harder and feel more depressing for me if I brought a child into the equation.

This doesn’t apply to people in the world who genuinely always knew they wanted to be parents. But for those of us who kind of always knew deep in our soul that parenthood wasn’t for us, then I think we should stick to our guns because existential dread as a solo human on this planet is already heavy enough.

When you add on the layers of worrying about an innocent child who now has to manage a relentlessly cruel and disturbing human experience, I think it just makes it worse.

The idea of getting pregnant and having a kid right now doesn’t feel like a blessing, even though people say all babies are blessings. It actually just makes me feel concerned about that child’s future and the life they’re going to live.

As a woman of color, I think I have a little bit darker of a perspective on this because I’ve dealt with sexism and racism my entire life and there is absolutely no way I can avoid that as part of my human experience unless I hide away in a box forever.

So the idea of a little child in the world experiencing the same level of sexism, racism, and hatred that I’ve endured, even feeling a sliver or a fraction of the pain I have felt… it really just makes me sick to my stomach.

Couple that with the fact that most of us just don’t have the greatest genetics. We’re passing down generations of cancer, diabetes, thyroid disease, and other genetic issues. Plus mental health issues like depression and anxiety… All of that stuff runs in my family.

I’m good with it if all of the generational trauma ends with me. I’m good if all the generational curses are broken with me.

And with that decision comes peace of mind that goes hand-in-hand with coping with my existential dread.

The last thing I’ll say about this point is that I’ve always heard that the childfree folks of the world are uncontrollable and ungovernable.

It’s really hard to control people who are childfree, because it is easier for us to approach decision making mire leniently.

Those with children might feel forced to stay at toxic jobs or stay living in certain cities based on affordability because they have kids they need to tend to.

As a childfree person, I’ve historically been able to quit toxic jobs whenever I felt like it.

I was able to leave toxic relationships without a second thought because there were no kids in the picture to consider.

And when I was 24, I literally packed up my car with all my stuff and crossed state lines to move to another city overnight because I randomly wanted a fresh start.

These are things that you can certainly do with kids, but it’s way harder to do with kids.

So coping with existential dread for me means staying as uncontrolled as I possibly can by maintaining as much freedom and flexibility as I possibly can, and for me, that means remaining childfree.

Career freedom (remote work, flexible work schedules, etc)

Secondly, I believe coping with existential dread comes down to career freedom and having autonomy over your daily schedule when it comes to your job.

This is why I’m a huge advocate for remote work and four day work weeks.

I’m a huge advocate for freelance work or anything that keeps you as free as you possibly can be instead of feeling like you’re being trapped and controlled in an office, in a warehouse, in a factory, in a 40 hour work week, etc.

There are some people who are working 50, 60 hour work weeks. I feel that if you have no work life balance, it simply sucks your soul and drains your life force.

And obviously, it makes it feel like life is not worth living if all you’re doing is slaving away at a job. We have to have meaningful life experiences outside of our job.

I believe that opting for a career path that allows you to work remotely, have a flexible schedule, or maintain autonomy over your day helps with existential dread because it allows you to have as much freedom and flexibility as possible, rather than succumbing to being controlled.

I’m fully aware that in this current job market, this is not an easy coping mechanism to just leach onto, especially with AI taking over all the jobs of the world.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future for everyone’s careers, but I do know that the more freedom we have regarding the way we sustain ourselves and earn an income, the easier it is to be happier, and the easier it is to avoid feelings of existential dread.

Again, I don’t know what that’s meant to look like or what that supposed to look like with the world rapidly changing due to the rise of AI, but I strongly believe that if you have a job that drains your life force, it’s almost impossible to avoid existential dread.

Start manifesting ASAP

Third, we can cope with existential dread by putting actions like manifestation into practice without fake optimism or telling her ourselves lies that “everything is gonna be OK” all the time.

We do not need to gaslight ourselves into thinking that if we just think happy thoughts, everything will be perfect. Because that’s not true and that’s not how manifestation works anyway.

But I think a key component to drowning out existential dread is by tapping into spirituality and putting actions like manifestation into practice.

We know that some of the wealthiest and most successful celebrities, CEOs, and billionaires use manifestation and astrology practices to achieve what they have achieved.

JP Morgan is famously quoted saying, “Millionaires don’t use astrology, billionaires do.”

Plenty of CEOs have admitted that they have energy healers and spiritual coaches on speed dial to help them with business decisions, stock market decisions, etc.

Over 2/3 of millionaires worldwide are affiliated with some form of religion that praises a higher power. These millionaires cite God as being the reason for their success.

Super successful individuals tap into spirituality without shame, even if they aren’t publicly announcing it, because it’s pretty obvious that there is more to life than what we can see in this 3-D reality.

Some people claim that the results of spirituality and religion are a matter of coincidence, but anyone who is truly in tune and tapped in is well aware that we’ve all been intricately designed, and we’re capable of tapping into the power of manifestation if we’re willing to be open minded enough.

Plenty of people will live and die their entire existence on this planet with ever tapping in and they’ll never give it a chance because they think it’s too woo woo or hard to believe.

But then there’s the rest of us who attract miracles on a consistent basis because we’re willing to be open minded to the spiritual realm of what’s really going on beyond this 3-D reality.

There’s more to life than just the basics of what we can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.

Drowning out existential dread often means being willing to tap into the spiritual component of life to make this existence a little more bearable. I’m open to it because if there is a secret hack to making life more bearable, then I want to know about it.

If there is a secret hack to making life feel a little easier and less strenuous, than I want to know about it. People use manifestation practices to help attract opportunities, people, and events into their lives with ease and flow.

There are also plenty of people in the world who put their nose down, go to work every day, work aggressively hard, show up, and get results the hard way.

These are the same people who work until they’re 60 and then retire. They grind their life away because they believe there are no other options.

Many of these people live a very excruciating and challenging life without any ease. And then there are those of us who tap into spirituality and find ourselves in situations where we meet the right people at the right time in a very cosmic way.

It happens for those of us who are in alignment. I feel connected to God because I know that I’m God‘s daughter. I feel that he has granted us as his children the ability to create since he created man in his image, which means that he created us to be creators as well.

To sit around and just hope that things fall in your lap is not how it works. To feel like you have to grind and hustle super hard to achieve success is also not how you do it.

There is a balance in the middle that you can strike when you are willing to put manifestation into practice and I think that it is one of the cheat codes for coping with existential dread.

The wealthiest celebrities, CEOs, and billionaires use spirituality and religion, and manifestation practices to achieve what they have achieved, and this is not a secret, this is something that everyone can look up on Google.

These people get to live lifestyles that feel more abundant and free because of it. So this means that the more well-off you are, the more resources you have.

The more resources you have, the less time you’re spending in survival mode. If you aren’t stuck in fight or flight mode, just trying to survive every day, then it’s easier to free your mind of existential dread.

Most of us are living in survival mode just trying to figure out literally how to survive every day. And that’s not a way to live.

Create more than you consume

Fourth, I think we can drown out existential dread by creating more than we consume, and by filling our schedules with things that are fulfilling and meaningful.

To create more than consume means you’re choosing creation over consumption. Consumption comes in the form of scrolling mindlessly, binge watching shows all day, binge eating junk food, listening to low vibrational music, and just consuming anything that makes your life feel small, repetitive, and bleak.

Ways you can create include writing, filming content, painting, sculpting, dancing, or just generally building something from nothing.

And when you create, it’s a reminder that you’re not just a passive observer of this world collapsing around you or a passive observer of this corrupt system we’ve been placed inside of.

It means that you’re choosing to become an active participant in shaping something meaningful in your life. It means that, even if we know the world is corrupt, we can still add something honest, beautiful, or comforting to it anyway.

And that alone makes existence feel less pointless.

In simpler terms, I believe that drowning out existential dread requires a lot of fulfilling distractions, and meaningful calendar scheduling. Escaping existential dread often requires keeping yourself busy with things that make your life feel like it’s worth living.

For me personally going to dance class, creating content on social media, and writing lifestyle articles about relationships and travel are some examples of things I do to keep myself busy so I don’t end up curled in a ball thinking about how dreadful it is to exist on a planet that is completely corrupt and disproportionately unfair.

For each individual person it’s different. Different things call out to different people regarding what you’re passionate about, what interests you, and what you can do to fill your schedule with fulfilling activities.

Travel A LOT

Fifth, I believe one solid way of drowning out existential dread is by making a pact with yourself to see as much of the world as humanly possible in your lifetime.

If we didn’t consent to be here on this planet, but we’re now here on this planet anyway, then why not take this human experience and see as much of the world as we possibly can, whatever that might look like?

It’s harder to cope with existential dread when you’ve never left your hometown, or you feel stuck in the same city your whole life.

So even if you’re not a super wealthy person who can hop on private flights all the time to get around, it’s still possible to travel, explore, and create memories within the means of budget traveling, staying at hostels, instead of hotels, finding cheap flights, and building up a travel fund/savings account that’s purely devoted to helping you explore different parts of the world.

I really do feel like I’m here against my will, and without my consent. I didn’t give consent for my parents to birth me onto this planet.

But if I’m here, then I might as well make the most of it and I might as well go explore and see places that have been beautifully designed by God around the globe.

Choose the right partner, friends, & family

Sixth, another solid way to drown out existential dread is by choosing a life partner you can do life with who genuinely has your back and shows up for you as your best friend.

I know this is easier said than done for people who are currently single. Before I met my husband, I was in the manifestation process trying to meet him and I felt like I was never going to meet the right person who wasn’t a fuck boy. I kept meeting assholes.

I felt like I was never gonna meet anyone who had my best interest at heart. I feel like I kissed a lot of frogs before eating my prince, so I really don’t think this step is an easy one.

But I do believe that doing life with a life partner makes this existence far more bearable. So if the desire is on your heart to do life with a life partner then that’s not something you should give up on until you actually meet the right person.

And if romance doesn’t apply to you and having a soulmate relationship, just simply isn’t something on your radar then this same thing applies with your chosen family and chosen friendships.

We don’t get to pick who’s related to us by blood, but we do get to pick who we spend quality time with and who we exchange energy with in terms of our chosen friends and family.

And we can always choose to surround ourselves with people who make us feel safe and seen. Companionship is a beautiful thing, whether it’s romantic or platonic.

No one was designed to do life completely alone. A lonely existence is a painful existence. And that often leads to a lot of feelings of existential dread. Because when you feel like you have nothing to live for and no one to share your life with, then it’s easy to fall into depression.

So whether we’re talking about romantic relationships or platonic relationships, your chosen friends and family really matter. And if you feel like you’re in a really lonely phase in your life, it’s OK if there are only one, two, or three people who you really trust.

But if there are zero people, then it’s your personal responsibility to put yourself out there to build connections with healthy minded people who have your best interest.

That might require putting yourself out there at times when you’d rather shy away, but it’s worth it if you really do want to escape existential dread. It means you might have to sign up for a cooking class, you might have to start going to a new gym, or you might need to place yourself in environments where you can connect with like-minded people.

And in order to have a community, you need to show up for others, even when it’s not convenient for you. I’ve had friends ask some of the most annoying favors out of me, and in order to maintain friendships with people who I cherish and value, I agree to show up for my friends because inconvenience is the cost of community.

Cultivating connections with chosen friends and family is really important in helping cope with existential dread.

For people who think it’s just not worth the effort to inconvenience themselves dealing with the energies of other people, then loneliness eventually leads to depression, which puts you on the direct path of existential dread.

Calm your nervous system

Seventh and final step for coping with existential dread is tending to your nervous system, which is a little bit sciency, but also super important. None of this stuff matters if your body thinks you’re in danger.

So going through emotional regulation to keep yourself calm instead of constantly spiraling is huge. I’m still working on this step myself and I am a work in progress.

I often find myself spiraling into the deep and dark depths of my existential dread before I take a pause and remember that it’s simply not helpful. I can feel bitter and resentful against my parents for birthing me and bringing me into existence without my consent all day, but that doesn’t help anybody.

And truth be told, I am bitter and resentful of them because they brought me onto this planet and did not set me up for success. Life is really hard and generally speaking, it doesn’t really feel that good a lot of the time.

There are certainly highs and lows, but the sad reality is that the pendulum swings both ways. And even if you are experiencing a high, you will eventually experience another low.

And life will continue droning on like that forever until you reach your death date.

The good doesn’t always win. Having pure intentions doesn’t always mean you’ll yield good results. And life simply isn’t fair. But it doesn’t help anybody to dwell on these thoughts. So it’s important that we tend to our nervous system.

Sometimes our existential dread isn’t exactly philosophical and it’s more physiological. So when we’re feeling dysregulated, everything feels meaningless.

Everything feels urgent and everything feels doomed. Some of the ways we can start regulating our bodies and tending to our nervous system is by allowing ourselves to rest without feeling guilty over it.

Also, moving our bodies without punishing our bodies. Not consuming low vibrational content, such as true crime podcasts, adult triple X content, horror movies, or degrading music.

It means not scrolling on TikTok all day and comparing your life to others. Another way we can regulate our nervous system is by revoking people’s access to us if they’ve treated us badly.

We do not have to socialize with people who make us feel badly about ourselves. We do not have to spend time with people who make us feel anxious or uncomfortable.

It’s about releasing our people pleasing tendencies and knowing that we’re allowed to stand up for ourselves and what we believe in without placing ourselves in environments that are not good for our mental health.

You can’t “logic” your way out of existential dread if your body thinks you’re under threat. And you can’t float your way out of existential dread if your mind is feeling burned out.

We’ve got a regulate our nervous system’s because although we didn’t consent to be here, we are here, and we are doing this human experience in human bodies that require maintenance and upkeep.

Physical maintenance and mental maintenance are crucial. Our upkeep requires taking showers and brushing our teeth, but it also requires taking care of our minds.

If that means journaling to dump all the toxic thoughts out of our brain and onto a piece of paper, then we should do that.

We’ve got to do whatever steps are necessary to feel safe within our bodies to cope with existential dread.