Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Existential Isolation: Theory, Empirical Findings, and Clinical Considerations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Existential Concerns and Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures

Abstract

Yalom (1980) identified three forms of isolation: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and existential. This chapter focuses primarily on existential isolation, both as an existential reality and as a subjective experience. Existential isolation refers to the inherent unbridgeable gap between any two beings and the impossibility of knowing with certainty how anyone else experiences the world. The chapter begins with discussion of existential isolation as an existential reality and how awareness of it can be threatening to a species that relies upon shared social validation for meaning and psychological security. The chapter then examines the consequences and potential benefits of confronting existential isolation, considers how existential isolation relates to other existential concerns, and reviews empirical research on the topic. The chapter concludes with a discussion of ways in which psychotherapy could help clients develop resources to manage the anxiety associated with awareness of existential isolation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Heavy weight status was characterized by individuals with a body mass index (BMI) above 25 (calculated by participant’s height and weight), and those with non-heavy weight status had a BMI at 25 or below (Centers for Disease Control, 2016).

References

  • Arndt, J., Landau, M. J., Vail, K. E., III, & Vess, M. (2013). An edifice for enduring personal value: A terror management perspective on the human quest for multilevel meaning. American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership, and men: Research in human relations (pp. 177–190). Carnegie Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asch, S. E. (1952). Social psychology. Prentice Hall.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barlow, D. H., Farchione, T. J., Sauer-Zavala, S., Latin, H. M., Ellard, K. K., Bullis, J. R., … Cassiello-Robbins, C. (2018). Unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders. Therapist guide. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made. Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, E. (1971). The birth and death of meaning. Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolmsjö, I., Tengland, P., & Rämgård, M. (2019). Existential loneliness: An attempt at an analysis of the concept and the phenomenon. Nursing Ethics, 26, 1310–1325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buber, M. (1970). In W. Kauffman (Ed.), I and thou. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, B. L., Martens, A., & Faucher, E. H. (2010). Two decades of terror management theory: A meta-analysis of mortality salience research. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 155–195.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Camus, A. (1955). The myth of Sisyphus. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays, 88–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castano, E., Yzerbyt, V., & Paladino, M. (2004). Transcending oneself through social identification. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Handbook of experimental existential psychology (pp. 305–319). Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Defining adult overweight and obesity. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html

  • Child, S. T., & Lawton, L. (2017). Loneliness and social isolation among young and late middle-age adults: Associations with personal networks and social participation. Aging and Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1399345

  • Collins, W. E. (1989). A sermon from hell: Toward a theology of loneliness. Journal of Religion and Health, 28, 70–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, M. J., Sommer, R. K., Goodwin, B. J., Coyne, A. E., & Pinel, E. C. (2019). Existential isolation as a correlate of clinical distress, beliefs about psychotherapy, and experiences with mental health treatment. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. Advance online publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, C. H. (1964). Human nature and the social order. Schocken Books. (Original work published 1902)..

    Google Scholar 

  • Coplan, R. J., & Bowker, J. C. (2014). All alone: Multiple perspectives on the study of solitude. In R. J. Coplan & J. C. Bowker (Eds.), The handbook of solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation, social withdrawal, and being alone (pp. 3–13). Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, S. E., Hardin, E. E., & Gercek-Swing, B. (2011). The what, how, why, and where of self-construal. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15, 142–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Re, A. C., Flückiger, C., Horvath, A. O., Symonds, D., & Wampold, B. E. (2012). Therapist effects in the therapeutic alliance-outcome relationship: A restricted-maximum likelihood meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 642–649.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Echterhoff, G., Higgins, E. T., & Levine, J. M. (2009). Shared reality: Experiencing commonality with others inner states about the world. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 496–521.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ettema, E. J., Derksen, L. D., & van Leeuwen, E. (2010). Existential loneliness and end-of-life care: A systematic review. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, 31, 141–169.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Farchione, T. J., Fairholme, C. P., Ellard, K. K., Boisseau, C. L., Thompson-Hollands, J., Carl, J. R., … Barlow, D. H. (2012). Unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 43(3), 666–678.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fromm, E. (1963). Art of loving. Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1986). The causes and consequences of the need for self-esteem: A terror management theory. In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Public self and private self (pp. 189–212). Springer-Verlag.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., Rosenblatt, A., Burling, J., Lyon, D., & Pinel, E. (1992). Assessing the terror management analysis of self-esteem: Converging evidence of an anxiety-buffering function. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 913–922.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon-Jones, E., Simon, L., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & McGregor, H. (1997). Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduces mortality salience effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 24–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, J. (2014). Toward an integrative theory of psychological defense. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 19–39.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, J., Schimel, J., Arndt, J., & Faucher, E. H. (2010). A theoretical and empirical review of the death-thought accessibility concept in terror management research. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 699–739.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2011). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change. Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heidegger, M. (1927). In J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson (Eds.), Being and time. Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helm, P. J., Rothschild, L., Greenberg, J., & Croft, A. (2018). Explaining sex differences in existential isolation research. Personality and Individual Differences, 134, 283–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helm, P. J., Greenberg, J., Park, Y. C., & Pinel, E. C. (2019a). Feeling alone in your subjectivity: Introducing the state trait existential isolation model (STEIM). Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 3, 146–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helm, P. J., Lifshin, U., Chau, R., & Greenberg, J. (2019b). Existential isolation and death thought accessibility. Journal of Research in Personality, 82, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helm, P. J., Jimenez, T., Bultmann, M., Lifshin, U., Arndt, J., & Greenberg, J. (2020a). Existential isolation, loneliness, and attachment in young adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 159, 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helm, P. J., Marchant, D., Arndt, J., & Greenberg, J. (2020b). Experiences of existential isolation amongst student veterans. Manuscript in Preparation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heu, L. C., van Zomeren, M., & Hansen, N. (2019). Lonely alone or lonely together? A cultural-psychological examination of individualism-collectivism and loneliness in five European countries. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45, 780–793.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, J. A., Schlegel, R. J., & King, L. A. (2010). Social threats, happiness, and the dynamics of meaning in life judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1305–1317.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, R. (1974). Loneliness. Journal of analytic. Psychology, 19, 71–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, M. A., & Mahajan, N. (2018). Domains of self-uncertainty and their relationship to group identification. Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 2, 67–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10, 227–237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, H. (1965). Effective psychotherapy: The contribution of Hellmuth Kaiser (L. Fierman). : Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kassel, J. D. (2010). Substance abuse and emotion. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/12067-000

  • Kazanjian, C., & Choi, S. (2013). Encountering the displaced child: Applying Clark Moustakas’ concept of existential loneliness to displaced youth. Journal of Global Responsibility, 4, 157–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, J. F., Abry, A., Ferri, M., & Humphreys, K. (2020). Alcoholics anonymous and 12-step facilitation treatments for alcohol use disorder: A distillation of a 2020 Cochrane review for clinicians and policy makers. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 55, 641–651.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kernis, M. H. (2005). Measuring self-esteem in context: The importance of stability of self-esteem in psychological functioning. Journal of Personality, 73, 1569–1605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kierkegaard, S. (1981). In R. Thomte (Ed.), The concept of anxiety. Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1844)..

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kretschmer, M., & Storm, L. (2017). The relationships of the five existential concerns with depression and existential thinking. International Journal of Existential Psychology & Psychotherapy, 7, 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuperus, G. (2018). Beyond the dread of death: Existentialism’s embrace of the meaninglessness of life. Chapter 3. In R. E. Menzies, R. G. Menzies, & L. Iverach (Eds.), Curing the dread of death: Theory, research and practice (pp. 41–56). Australian Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuutmann, K., & Hilsenroth, M. J. (2012). Exploring in-session focus on the patient-therapist relationship: Patient characteristics, process and outcome. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 19, 187–202.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landau, M. J., Johns, M., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Martens, A., Goldenberg, J. L., & Solomon, S. (2004). A function of form: Terror management and structuring the social world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 190–210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenauer, G. G. (1970). Loneliness. Journal of emotional. Education, 10, 87–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, L., Daykin, N., Meads, C., Tomlinson, A., Gray, K., Lane, J., & Victor, C. (2019). A conceptual review of loneliness across the adult life course (16+ years). What Works Wellbeing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May, R., & Yalom, I. (2000). Existential psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsini & D. Wedding (Eds.), Current psychotherapies (6th ed., pp. 273–302). Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayers, A. M., & Svartberg, M. (2001). Existential loneliness: A review of the concept, its psychological precipitants and psychotherapeutic implications for HIV-infected women. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 74, 539–553.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayers, A. M., Khoo, S., & Svartberg, M. (2002). The existential loneliness questionnaire: Background, development, and preliminary findings. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58, 1183–1193.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayers, A. M., Naples, N. A., & Nilsen, R. D. (2005). Existential issues and coping: A qualitative study of low-income women with HIV. Psychology and Health, 20, 93–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, J. G. (1995). Loneliness, its nature and forms: An existential perspective. Man and World, 28, 43–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society. University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller, J. (1912). Elements of physiology. In B. Rand (Ed.), The classical psychologists: Selections illustrating psychology from Anaxagoras to Wundt (pp. 530–544). Constable & Co. Limited. (Original work published 1834).

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., Bellavia, G., Griffin, D. W., & Dolderman, D. (2002). Kindred spirits? The benefits of egocentrism in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 563–581.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2, 175–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norcross, J. C. (2010). The therapeutic alliance. Chapter 4. In B. L. Duncan, S. D. Miller, B. E. Wampold, & M. A. Hubble (Eds.), The heart and soul of change (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, J. L. (2006). Our existential predicament: Loneliness, depression, anxiety, & death (5th ed.). Existential Book.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, Y. C., & Pinel, E. (2020). Existential isolation and cultural orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 159, 109891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peplau, L. A., & Perlman, D. (Eds.). (1982). Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research, and therapy. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perlman, D. (2004). European and Canadian studies of loneliness among seniors. Canadian Journal on Aging, 23, 181–188.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pinel, E. C., Long, A. E., Landau, M., & Pyszczynski, T. (2004). I-sharing, the problem of existential isolation, and their implications for interpersonal and intergroup phenomena. In J. Greenberg, S. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Handbook of experimental existential psychology (pp. 352–368). Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinel, E. C., Long, A. E., Murdoch, E. Q., & Helm, P. J. (2017). A prisoner of one’s own mind: Identifying and understanding existential isolation. Personality and Individual Differences., 105, 54–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinel, E. C., Johnson, L. C., Long, A. E., & Helm, P. J. (2020). Existential isolation’s contribution to humanitarianism, sense of community. In And a predilection to do good. Manuscript Under Review.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plusnin, N., Pepping, C. A., & Kashima, E. S. (2018). The role of close relationships in terror management: A systematic review and research agenda. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 22, 307–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., & Hamilton, J. (1990). A terror management analysis of self-awareness and anxiety: The hierarchy of terror. Anxiety Research, 2, 177–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rank, O. (1945). In J. Taft (Ed.), Will therapy and truth and reality. Alfred A. Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. (1980). A way of being. Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, M. A., & Cobia, D. (2008). An existential approach: An alternative to the AA model of recovery. The Alabama Counseling Association Journal, 34, 59–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, L., Greene, D., & House, P. (1977). The false consensus effect: An egocentric bias in social perception and attribution processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 13, 279–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Routledge, C., & Vess, M. (2019). Handbook of terror management theory. Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartre, J. (2001). In H. E. Barnes (Ed.), Being and nothingness. Kensington Publishing. (Original work published 1943).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sequin, C. (1965). Love and psychotherapy. Libra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, D., Landau, M. J., & Kay, A. C. (2012). Toward a comprehensive understanding of existential threat: Insights from Paul Tillich. Social Cognition, 30, 734–757.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swann, W. B., Jetten, J., Gómez, Á., Whitehouse, H., & Bastian, B. (2012). When group membership gets personal: A theory of identity fusion. Psychological Review, 119, 441–456.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tajfel, H. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tillich, P. (2000). The courage to be. Yale University Press. (Original work published 1952).

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Igou, E. R., Maher, P. J., & Lennon, J. (2019). Various forms of existential distress are associated with aggressive tendencies. Personality and Individual Differences, 144, 111–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vazire, S. (2010). Who knows what about a person? The self-other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA) model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 281–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yawger, G. C., Helm, P. J., Pinel, E. C., Long, A. E., & Scharnetzki, L. (2020). Feeling out of (existential) place: On the cost of non-normative group membership. Manuscript submitted for publication.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    Peter J. Helm

  2. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Ronald F. Chau & Jeff Greenberg

Authors
  1. Peter J. Helm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ronald F. Chau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jeff Greenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter J. Helm .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia

    Ross G. Menzies

  2. University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia

    Rachel E. Menzies

  3. University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Genevieve A. Dingle

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Helm, P.J., Chau, R.F., Greenberg, J. (2022). Existential Isolation: Theory, Empirical Findings, and Clinical Considerations. In: Menzies, R.G., Menzies, R.E., Dingle, G.A. (eds) Existential Concerns and Cognitive-Behavioral Procedures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06932-1_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation