Existential wellbeing may be of utmost importance to many people

Existential wellbeing (EWB) may be the most important type of wellbeing because, compared with other types of wellbeing, it may be more relevant to all people in all circumstances. However, it remains the most neglected form of wellbeing in mainstream positive psychology (PP). In this brief concept paper, we first explain the fundamental problems pertaining to the PP approach in research on wellbeing, which ignored the PP of suffering and EWB. Next, we present the existential positive psychology (EPP) as a more promising framework for a global wellbeing research that is more realistic, inclusive, and sustainable. Using the EPP framework, we then define the elements, processes, and outcomes of EWB. Finally, we provide several examples to potentiate why EWB may be more relevant to all people, two of which draw on the authors’ lived experiences.