Into the Void With Moby

"Existential dread is a deep sense of sadness and even terror that can arise when we struggle to understand our existence, such as our mortality, feelings of isolation, and a perceived lack of meaning in our lives. Because existential dread can be so intense, we may avoid or suppress our feelings, which often worsens rather than improves our dread. Further, we may be hesitant to seek support for fear of being stigmatized for struggling with our mental health."

"In these moments, when we feel alone and trapped, many people turn to music. Music is often the first place where we learn to experience and understand our feelings. And research indicates that engagement with music, particularly in the form of music therapy, can help us manage a range of painful emotional experiences. For many of us, music empathically reflects the depths of our darkness and pain."

Existential dread involves profound sadness and terror arising from confronting mortality, isolation, and perceived lack of meaning. Intense dread often leads to avoidance, suppression, and reluctance to seek support because of stigma, creating spirals of isolation without solutions. Many people turn to music as a primary way to experience, name, and understand feelings. Engagement with music and with music therapy can help manage anxiety, depression, and other painful emotions by validating feelings and enabling processing. Music can empathically mirror darkness and pain, create safe spaces for vulnerability, and transform existential dread into connection rather than further isolation.

Read at Psychology Today