Existential Coping

In The Last Messiah, Peter Wessel Zapffe discusses the human condition and our struggle with the awareness of existence. He argues that humans suffer because their strong thinking ability and self-awareness make them realize life is meaningless, pointless, and the fact that death is unavoidable. To cope with this existential anxiety, Zapffe identifies four main defense mechanisms that people use to suppress these difficult truths. This article discusses these four mechanisms.

Isolation

Isolation means pushing away or not thinking about painful or scary thoughts. In everyday life, people usually avoid talking about heavy topics like death to keep things comfortable and easy.

Isolation only works for a little while. The real problem doesn't go away; it just hides inside. Later on, these thoughts can come back even stronger, which might cause serious stress or emotional problems.

Attachment

Attachment means holding on to things that feel safe and familiar, like family, home, or beliefs. These attachments make us feel secure and help protect us from scary or hard realities. To keep life stable, people build systems like religion, laws, and traditions that act like walls holding everything together.

Attachment can be fragile because it's based on beliefs that aren't fully true or on hopeful thinking. When real life challenges these beliefs, a person's feeling of safety can fall apart, which may lead to a crisis or deep sadness.

Diversion

Diversion means staying busy all the time with activities like work, watching TV, or hanging out with friends. People use diversion to avoid thinking about things that upset them. It's like a plane that has to keep flying; if it stops, it will crash.

Diversion can help for a little while, but it doesn't solve the real problem. If you distract yourself too much, life can feel empty, and you won't be ready when trouble hits.

Sublimation

Sublimation means taking your bad feelings and using them to do something good instead, like creating art. This works best if the pain isn't too overwhelming or if the person deals with it before feeling hopeless. Artists are good examples of people who use sublimation.

Sublimation is different from the other three because it helps people face life's problems and turn them into something valuable or beautiful, instead of hiding or ignoring their pain. Sublimation is the healthiest and most mature way to deal with life's hard realities.