Eco-Anxiety and Planetary Hope: Experiencing the Twin Disasters of COVID-19 and Climate Change

This timely volume examines the conflict between human individual life and larger forces that are not controllable. Drawing on recent literature in phenomenological and existential psychology it calls for a more nuanced understanding of the human predicament. Focusing on the co-occurring crises of climate change and the COVID-19 epidemic, it explores the nature of widespread anxiety and the long-term human consequences. It calls for an expansion of current research that would include the arts and humanities for critical insights into how this essential conflict between humanity and nature may be reconciled. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

The Experiences of Post-ICU COVID-19 Survivors: An Existential Perspective using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

COVID-19 has highlighted the vulnerability of intensive care unit (ICU) patients and the negative sequelae associated with ICU treatment. While the potentially traumatic impact of ICU is well documented, less is known about the ICU survivor's subjective experience and how it influences life post-discharge. Existential psychology addresses the universal concerns of existence, including death, isolation, and meaninglessness, and offers a holistic view of human experience beyond diagnostic categories. An existential psychological understanding of ICU COVID-19 survivorship may therefore provide a rich account of what it means to be among the worst affected by a global existential crisis. This study employed interpretive phenomenological analysis of qualitative interviews with 10 post-ICU COVID-19 survivors (aged 18-78). Interviews were structured on existential psychology's 'Four Worlds' model that explores the physical, social, personal, and spiritual dimensions of human experience. The essential meaning of ICU COVID-19 survival was conceptualised as 'Trying to Reconnect with a Changed Reality' and consisted of four themes. The first, Between Shifting Realities in ICU, described the liminal nature of ICU and the need to ground oneself. The second, What it Means to Care and Be Cared For, captured the emotive nature of personal interdependence and reciprocity. The third, The Self is Different, described survivors' struggle to reconcile old and new selves. The fourth, A New Relationship with Life, outlined how survivors' experiences shaped their new worldviews. Findings evidence the value of holistic, existentially informed psychological support for ICU survivors.

Existential Well-being, Mental Health, and COVID-19: Reconsidering the Impact of Lockdown Stressors in Moscow.

Background: Initial psychological papers on COVID-19, mental health and wellbeing mostly focus on the aftermath lockdown-related stress and stress related to the disease itself. Still, we presume that personal well-being can be resistant to stressors depending on the way the person is settled in their life. Objective: We seek to reconsider the contribution of lockdown-related stressors to existential well-being, to assess existential well-being during the outbreak and to compare the contribution of living conditions and COVID-19-related factors on well-being. Design: An online survey was conducted during the peak of the outbreak in Moscow (April-May 2020) (N=880). The data was obtained using the "Test of Existential Motivations" questionnaire and a series of questions addressing (1) living conditions - mental and physical health, employment, and social distancing; (2) COVID-19-related stressors - non-chronic illness, financial losses, and unavailability of goods or services; (3) sociodemographic indicators - age, gender, and income. Data analysis included hierarchical multiple regression, one-sample t-test, and analysis of variance. Results: Surprisingly, the existential well-being of Moscow citizens during the research period was moderate. Each of the three groups of factors predicted a similar proportion of the variance of well-being (3-3,9%). The strongest predictors of well-being were long-term mental health status and financial stability. The effect of COVID-19-related stressors was most pronounced when they co-occur. Conclusion: The negative association between lockdown-related stressors and poor well-being is not universal. It is necessary to study the effect of COVID-19-related stressors in combination with individual living conditions and region-specific factors and to focus on the prevention of the occurrence of stressors.

Understanding Wildlife Crime from Eco-Existential and African Perspectives: A Psycho-Philosophical Investigation.

Wildlife crime has huge consequences regarding global environmental changes to animals, plants and the entire ecosystem. Combatting wildlife crime effectively requires a deep understanding of human-wildlife interactions and an analysis of the influencing factors. Conservation and green criminology are important in reducing wildlife crime, protecting wildlife and the ecosystem and informing policy-makers about best practices and strategies. However, the past years have shown that wildlife crime is not easy to combat and it is argued in this article that there are underlying existential "givens" and culture-specific aspects that need to be investigated to understand why wildlife crime is still on the rise. This theoretical article explores (eco-)existential perspectives, Greening's four givens and selected African philosophical concepts, aiming to understand the complexities behind the prevalence of wildlife crime within global and African contexts.

Self-Transcendence as a Buffer Against COVID-19 Suffering: The Development and Validation of the Self-Transcendence Measure-B.

The age of COVID-19 calls for a different approach toward global well-being and flourishing through the transcendence suffering as advocated by existential positive psychology. In the present study, we primarily explained what self-transcendence is and why it represents the most promising path for human beings to flourish through the transformation of suffering in a difficult and uncertain world. After reviewing the literature on self-transcendence experiences, we concluded that the model of self-transcendence presented by Frankl is able to integrate both of the characteristics associated with self-transcendence. Afterward, we discussed how the self-transcendence paradigm proposed by Wong, an extension of the model by Frankl, may help awaken our innate capacity for connections with the true self, with others, and with God or something larger than oneself. We presented self-transcendence as a less-traveled but more promising route to achieve personal growth and mental health in troubled times. Finally, we presented the history of the development and psychometrics of the Self-Transcendence Measure-Brief (STM-B) and reported the empirical evidence that self-transcendence served as a buffer against COVID-19 suffering. The presented data in the current study suggested that the best way to overcome pandemic suffering and mental health crises is to cultivate self-transcendence.

Finding Meaning Amidst COVID-19: An Existential Positive Psychology Model of Suffering.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis of suffering. We conceptualize suffering as a deeply existential issue that fundamentally changes people indelible ways and for which there are no easy solutions. To better understand its effects and how people can flourish in the midst of this crisis, we formally introduce and elaborate on an Existential Positive Psychology Model of Suffering (EPPMS) and apply that to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our model has three core propositions: (a) suffering reveals existential concerns, (b) existential anxiety impairs one's ability to find meaning, and (c) cultivating meaning is the primary way to address suffering and allay existential anxiety, eventually leading to flourishing (and potentially growth). We apply this model to the COVID-19 pandemic, including how to build meaning, and discuss clinical implications.

Existential positive psychology and integrative meaning therapy.

The unprecedented changes in our society because of COVID-19 and the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) shows that our healthcare system and the medical approach to psychotherapy can no longer meet the mental health needs of society. This paper first described the negative impact of COVID-19 and 4IR on our mental health. Then, following a brief critique of the medical model, this paper proposes that the future of psychotherapy needs to be based on the more inclusive and integrative framework of existential positive psychology (PP 2.0), which emphasizes flourishing through suffering. Finally, the paper emphasizes Viktor Frankl's cure and Wong's integrative meaning therapy. It concludes that integrative meaning therapy represents the future of psychotherapy, because it is situated in the area of interactions of at least three traditions: Clinical psychology, existential psychology, and positive psychology. This integrative model is holistic, recognising humans as bio-psycho-social-spiritual beings and considers several theoretical perspectives in both diagnosis and treatment.