Conceptualizing Existential Anxiety in High-Achieving Populations: Dimensions and Adaptive Responses

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore how high-achieving individuals experience and conceptualize existential anxiety and to identify the adaptive responses they employ to cope with these concerns.

Methods and Materials: A qualitative design grounded in interpretive phenomenological analysis was employed to deeply examine the lived experiences of existential anxiety among high performers. Twenty-five participants from Hungary, recognized for sustained excellence in fields such as academia, business, arts, sports, and science, were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews lasting 60–90 minutes, conducted face-to-face or online according to participant preference. Interview questions focused on participants’ perceptions of meaning, identity, mortality, and strategies for coping with existential unease. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached, after which transcripts were analyzed inductively using NVivo 14. An iterative coding process—open, axial, and thematic analysis—was used to develop higher-order categories and ensure rigor through double coding and member checking.

Findings: Analysis revealed three overarching themes: (1) sources and manifestations of existential anxiety, including pressure to maintain achievement, identity fragility, isolation in excellence, mortality awareness, and value–performance dissonance; (2) cognitive–emotional processing, characterized by internal dialogue, meaning searching, existential curiosity, and development of self-awareness; and (3) adaptive coping and growth responses, such as purpose reorientation, relational anchoring, mindfulness, creative expression, boundary setting, professional renewal, and existential acceptance. Participants often described an initial phase of perfectionistic rumination and isolation followed by deliberate meaning reconstruction and connection-seeking, transforming anxiety into growth.

Conclusion: Existential anxiety in high-achieving individuals emerges at the intersection of success-driven identity and existential awareness but can become a powerful driver for personal transformation when supported by reflection, relationships, spirituality, and curiosity. These findings deepen theoretical understanding and inform culturally sensitive, meaning-centered interventions for high performers.