Existential anxiety amid COVID-19 pandemic in Kashmir: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Existential anxiety (EA) revolves around the question of ultimate concern related to life and death. It gets more prominent when there is an exposure to stressful experiences where the stress is profound and resources seem insufficient. The objective was to measure the prevalence and magnitude of EA in the study population from the Kashmir valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected through social media. All the participants belonging to the Kashmir valley were included. EA questionnaire developed by Weems et al. was used. RESULTS: A total of 132 subjects were included. The prevalence of EA concerns was death 55%, fate 62%, emptiness 73%, meaninglessness 32%, guilt 55%, and condemnation 64%. The mean EA score was 5.0. EA was higher in those who had been diagnosed with mental illness ever in their life by a psychiatrist than those who had no such history. EA score was much higher in those who had ever felt a need to visit a psychiatrist than those who had not. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of EA for those who never felt this need and those who felt this need since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSION: There was a high prevalence of EA in the study population from the Kashmir valley. Relative concerns were more prevalent than absolute concerns. EA score was higher among those who had mental health issues compared to others.