Mass Existential Psychosis: A Framework for Symbolic Distress and Civic Understanding

By Roy Sadakane | October 4, 2025

Preamble: Naming the Distress

There are moments when the symbolic scaffolding of a society begins to fray—when stories lose coherence, rituals lose relevance, and futures lose clarity. In these moments, communities experience not just confusion, but a deeper kind of suffering: a symbolic distress that touches identity, ethics, and relational reality.

To name this condition, I offer a new term: Mass Existential Psychosis.

This term emerges from my work as an educator and coach, and is supported by a growing body of psychological and sociological research. My goal is to bridges symbolic pedagogy, cultural psychology, and trauma theory to offer a lens for understanding—and collective healing.

Definition

Mass Existential Psychosis is a symbolic-civic condition in which entire communities or societies experience a breakdown in shared meaning, ethical orientation, and narrative identity. This distress is catalyzed by existential pressures—such as ecological collapse, technological acceleration, historical erasure, or spiritual dislocation.

In this state, symbolic anchors dissolve, moral frameworks distort, and relational reality collapses. The result is widespread confusion, mythic projection, moral vertigo, and the rise of apocalyptic urgency or nostalgic idealization. It is not merely a clinical phenomenon, but a cultural and pedagogical emergency—a call to ritual, reflection, and symbolic reconstruction.

Evidence in Psychological and Civic Research

According to Gilad Hirschberger, collective trauma reshapes the symbolic architecture of societies, forcing communities to reconstruct meaning across generations. This supports the idea that symbolic distress is not just psychological—it is civic and transgenerational.

Kaitlin Wilmshurst’s existential trauma framework links trauma to core human anxieties: death, isolation, freedom, and meaninglessness. Mass Existential Psychosis fits within this lens as a mass-scale confrontation with existential rupture that destabilizes symbolic and civic identity.

Recent studies in Clinical Psychological Science show that collective trauma can cause temporal disintegration—a breakdown in the perception of time, continuity, and self. This aligns with the symbolic collapse described in this term, where communities lose their narrative thread.

In cultural psychiatry, the Coyolxauhqui Imperative reframes fragmentation as sacred and cyclical. According to Stewart, symbolic disintegration can be ritualized and reassembled through pedagogy, myth, and movement—validating the use of curriculum as a healing tool.

Seth Abrutyn’s theory of social trauma describes how collective pain becomes enculturated, shaping civic identity and communal memory. This affirms the framing of Mass Existential Psychosis as a symbolic wound that requires civic and pedagogical reconstruction.

📝 Authorship Statement

This term was coined by me, Roy Sadakane, in 2025, as part of my ongoing work to develop psychological understanding, symbolic, civic, and emotionally literate curriculum frameworks. While I’ve used AI to refine the language and structure of this post, the concept, definition, and pedagogical intent are entirely my own.

You are welcome to use this term in educational, civic, or psychological contexts—with attribution. Please cite as:
Mass Existential Psychosis, coined by Roy Sadakane, Educator, 2025.

Research Foundations

Hirschberger, G. (2018). Collective Trauma and the Social Construction of Meaning. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 1441. Read here

Wilmshurst, K. (2020). An Integrated Existential Framework for Trauma Theory. Canadian Social Work Review, 37(2), 131–148. Available via JSTOR

Grisham, E. L., Jones, N. M., Silver, R. C., & Holman, E. A. (2023). Do Past Events Sow Future Fears? Temporal Disintegration, Distress, and Fear of the Future Following Collective Trauma. Clinical Psychological Science, 11(6), 1064–1074. Read here

Stewart, T. (2025). The Coyolxauhqui Imperative: Dismemberment and Sacred Reintegration in Decolonial Psychiatry. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. Read here

Abrutyn, S. (2024). The Roots of Social Trauma: Collective, Cultural Pain and Its Consequences. Society and Mental Health, 14(3), 240–256. Read here

🌱 Closing Reflection

Language is a form of stewardship. By naming this distress, we begin to reclaim the symbolic terrain. We make the invisible visible. We offer individuals and communities a way to locate themselves within the storm—and to begin again.

Cards

Sometimes life is like playing a game of cards with a group of friends only to be dealt (time and time again) with the worse set of cards. Understanding that old saying “Play the Cards You’re Dealt” can help you turn a seemingly losing hand into a winner.

I am not much of a card player; but, I know that circumstances in life are like a card game. The next time life deals you a lousy set of cards – I suggest you reframe your mind and begin with the one card you believe can change your coarse. Or as the much regarded Catholic Nun and artist – Sister Corita Kent would say: “Find a place you trust and then try trusting it for a while.” 

A visual way to look at this is imagining that one card, the thing you have available to you is a domino. And with that domino, you can begin an ever-growing sequence of success. That card is in your hand; it’s your gift to create, the domino effect is real, and so is your power to create!!

Rise

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

– Marcus Aurelius

Anything can be transformed into an avenue for success.

Everyone has something to say; to contribute. Many have been told to shut up, sit down and put your dreams away. The words have come from the well-meaning, the meanies and ourselves. Instead of seeking the possibilities and options, the impossible strikes fear and limitations arises.

It’s time to give ourselves a fighting chance, by connecting to the possibilities and options. With just a slight transformation of words, the impossible is possible; the limitations become unlimited. The power of creation becomes ignited, and you rise like a phoenix.

Attention!

“A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Have you ever thought about how much time is wasted by the self-imposed distractions in our life?

It’s easy to blame social media it was built to distract us. Whether it’s the number of likes or that troll in your feed, I am sure that neither one will add anything of value to our lives.

Is our daily need to feed our social media diet becoming an addiction? Are we turning into a person with type-2 diabetes of our mind and soul? It can if we don’t turn it off and turn on the possibilities.

Everyone has the potential to excel in her or his work and in life. We can master our craft, but we have to learn to become focused on the unlimited potential that resides in us.

Ask

Successful teachers don’t ask their students and colleagues to do something different; they ask questions that will provoke their students to become someone different.

Successful teachers ask students to embrace: new values, new skills, new behaviors, new vocabulary, new ideas, new expectations, and new aspirations.

Successful teachers transform their students through the power of awareness and understanding of oneself.

Mess

The very first thing a group of preschoolers will do when they are allowed to play with wooden blocks is to throw them randomly on the floor, creating a big mess. My first impulse as their teacher would be to help them organize their chaos. Luckily for me, I paused to observe their process and was taught a valuable lesson.

First, you hear the tumbling blocks hit the floor, soon, their imagination would kick in, working together the children organize the wooden blocks into imaginary roads. Next, buildings began to appear, and make-believe cars would be driving through their imaginary city.

Proudly I would hear: “Teacher look!!” The children would point to skyscrapers touching the sky, vehicles traveling down city roads, and pedestrians carefully crossing the streets.

Almost everything worth doing begins with a mess. A mess of ideas, a pile of parts, a cupboard full of ingredients. With enough time and patient, the “mess” will begin to send you messages; ideas will begin connecting and the next you know the mayhem will turn into a maybe; the maybes will give way to possibilities, and ultimately your power of creation will turn it all into to the possible. It’s time to make a mess!