An Encounter With Existential Anxiety About three years ago, I was in a car accident on my way to work. A drunk driver hit me, totaled my car, and caused me to lose my job because of my inability to work without dwelling on it. I'd say before that, I was fairly carefree, a bit less direction. I see the accident as a guiding force though. I'm an atheist now, and took up Existentialism to cope with the accident.