Healing the Self: Mental Health and Existential Recovery in the Select Works of Don DeLillo

Abstract

This paper explores the coping mechanisms of existential beings during moments of crisis, focusing on the works of Don DeLillo, Zero K, The Body Artist, and Falling Man. Grounded in existential philosophy, psychology, and psychiatry, the study analyzes how DeLillo’s characters navigate crises of meaning, death, and isolation, revealing core existential traits both during and after their experiences. Drawing on theories from Sartre, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Frankl, and Yalom, the research demonstrates that these characters confront alienation, death, and absurdity by embracing authenticity, rebellion, and self-transformation. Through close reading and thematic analysis, the paper argues that DeLillo’s characters use suffering and trauma as catalysts for existential growth, reflecting the human capacity to find meaning and transformation in moments of profound disorientation. The study bridges literature and the humanities, illustrating how the existential crises depicted in DeLillo’s works resonate with universal themes of coping, identity, and survival in the face of the absurd. It will also propose the C.A.R.E model as a healing way to overcome crisis.