Existentially derived frameworks have become more popular among researchers investigating a number of clinical areas, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. Nevertheless, the concept of existential anxiety has often been perceived as overly abstract and conceptually amorphous, which severely limits the ability of empirical research to objectively decipher the corresponding intrapsychic processes. Contemporary existential thought, particularly terror management theory, considers awareness of our own mortality as a driving factor behind many of our motivations as human beings (e.g., meaning‐making and connecting with others). By clearly delineating the pathways from death awareness to different manifestations of existential anxiety, clinicians and researchers would have a clearer framework through which to study existential anxiety. The present work introduces the concept of existential pathways as a way of recognizing, discerning, and addressing the causes of existential cognitions, affect, and behaviors within both clinical and research settings. Contemporary existential thought and empirically validated findings within terror management theory are used to develop a conceptual model of how death awareness potentially leads to thoughts, emotions, motivations, and behaviors associated with eight existential constructs: death anxiety, meaning, isolation, freedom, vulnerability, facticity, identity, and chaos. Clinical and research implications are discussed within the context of the existential pathway model, providing guidance on how the model may be used to harness behavioral change and inform research methodology.

中文翻译：

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记忆：通过存在路径模型理解存在性焦虑

Existentially derived frameworks have become more popular among researchers investigating a number of clinical areas, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. Nevertheless, the concept of existential anxiety has often been perceived as overly abstract and conceptually amorphous, which severely limits the ability of empirical research to objectively decipher the corresponding intrapsychic processes. Contemporary existential thought, particularly terror management theory, considers awareness of our own mortality as a driving factor behind many of our motivations as human beings (e.g., meaning‐making and connecting with others). By clearly delineating the pathways from death awareness to different manifestations of existential anxiety, clinicians and researchers would have a clearer framework through which to study existential anxiety. The present work introduces the concept of 存在性途径，作为在临床和研究环境中识别，辨别和解决存在性认知，影响和行为的原因的一种方式。当代的存在主义思想和恐怖管理理论中经过经验验证的发现被用于发展一个概念模型，说明死亡意识如何导致与八个存在主义构想相关的思想，情感，动机和行为：死亡焦虑，含义，孤立，自由，脆弱性，事实，身份和混乱。在存在途径模型的背景下讨论了临床和研究意义，为如何使用模型来控制行为变化和为研究方法提供指导提供了指导。