Most of us see anxiety as something to avoid — a problem to fix, or at the very least, manage. It’s the uneasy flutter in your chest before a big decision. The spiralling thoughts at night. The creeping sense that you’re falling behind, failing somehow, or not quite living up to who you’re meant to be.
But Søren Kierkegaard, the 19th-century Danish philosopher often called the father of existentialism, saw anxiety differently.
Not as a flaw in the system.
Not as a mental defect.
But as a sign that you’re waking up.
Anxiety as the Dizziness of Freedom
Kierkegaard famously described anxiety as “the dizziness of freedom.” At first, that sounds strange — even poetic. But what he meant was this:
When we realise that we are free to shape our lives — to choose who we become — it can feel overwhelming. Standing at the edge of possibility can make us dizzy. And that dizziness, that discomfort, is anxiety.
Anxiety isn’t a sign that something is wrong. It’s a sign that something matters. That you’re not sleepwalking through life. That you’re aware of the weight of existence.
It’s the inner tension that comes when we sense we’re not yet who we’re meant to be — but we could be.
Anxiety Is Part of Becoming
In The Sickness Unto Death, Kierkegaard explores the idea of despair — not just sadness, but a kind of spiritual disconnect from your true self. Anxiety, he suggests, is often the beginning of that journey toward real selfhood.
It’s uncomfortable, yes. But it’s also productive — because it pulls you inward. It asks you to reflect. To pay attention. To consider not just what you’re doing, but who you are becoming.
Where modern culture often says: “Calm down, escape, distract yourself,”
Kierkegaard might say: “Lean in. Listen. What is your anxiety trying to reveal?”
You're Not Broken — You're Aware
Here’s the radical part: Kierkegaard didn’t pathologise anxiety. He didn’t say you were broken for feeling it. In fact, he saw it as a sign of spiritual depth.
Anxiety shows up not because you’re weak, but because you’re awake. You’re confronting the big questions — about purpose, meaning, eternity, and selfhood. And those are the very questions that most people spend their whole lives avoiding.
To feel anxious, then, is not failure. It’s an opportunity.
The Turning Point: From Fear to Faith
Of course, anxiety can become destructive if it spirals unchecked. Kierkegaard knew that too. But he believed the way forward wasn’t through denial or distraction — it was through faith.
Not blind optimism.
Not religious routine.
But a deep, honest, trusting relationship with God — the one who created you and calls you to become your true self.
It’s in that relationship, he believed, that anxiety finds its resolution. Not by removing your freedom, but by anchoring it.
💡 If you’ve ever felt like your anxiety says something terrible about you — maybe it’s time to hear what Kierkegaard has to say. He doesn’t offer quick fixes. But he offers something deeper: the idea that your anxiety could be the very thing that wakes you up to the life you were meant to live.
👉 Check out The Sickness Unto Death: A Modern Translation for the 21st Century
— a powerful, accessible guide to identity, despair, faith, and the gift of becoming.