The Healing Power of Awe
Most people in Arizona are familiar with the golden hour — that magical time in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun sits low and casts long shadows across the landscape. In this light, each spine of each cactus seems to glow. The air softens. The mountains look lit by firelight. For some of us, witnessing the harsh desert in its gentlest hour stirs something unexpected: a feeling that there is more to this moment than just ourselves. The boundaries of who we are seem, just briefly, to dissolve.
This experience is known as awe. Although it may seem natural, a growing body of psychological research suggests that awe has significant positive effects, including stress reduction, emotion regulation, and improved well-being and relationships.
What is Awe?
Awe is an experience distinct from an emotion. It is an experience that, according to research by Dacher Keltner, "unfolds in a space of its own." The experience of awe is larger than oneself, wherein the boundaries of self are dissolved, the ego is diminished, and one experiences oneself as small in the presence of something vast.
How is Awe Different from Emotions?
Most emotions push the nervous system in one direction — either toward activation (think fear or anger) or toward calm (think contentment or relief). Awe does something different. It activates both at once. That rare combination — alert and at ease, moved and grounded — is part of what makes awe such a powerful tool for healing. This dual state helps us settle into an experience with open, ready energy; exactly the kind of inner conditions that make growth and change possible.
The Benefits of Awe for Mental Health
Imagine yourself looking into the universe under a vast canopy of stars. In this moment, you know you are small in comparison to the vastness of the universe. Our daily stressors fall away, and some deep part of us understands that our problems — big as they may feel — are tiny in the vastness of our universe.
According to research, awe is more effective in reducing the impact of daily stress compared to states of joy, contentment, pride, gratefulness, and amusement.
Awe Increases Emotional Regulation
That experience of knowing that your problems are tiny in comparison to the vastness of the universe has long-lasting impacts. Unlike other emotions that produce a short-term state, awe can create a deeper shift in our identity, leading to reduced impulsive behavior and a stronger ability to regulate emotions.
Awe Quells the Inner Critic
The experience of the self as small in comparison to the vastness of the universe is known in psychology as the small self. The small self is the part of us that we stay connected to even as our ego and boundaries seem to dissolve in the experience of awe. Studies have shown that our inner perception shifts when we experience awe. Through the small self, we gain a wider perspective, and our self-appraisal, or inner critic, is quelled.
Awe Increases Healthy Social Habits
The diminished ego and connection with the small self help us feel more connected to our place in the world. Research has demonstrated that awe diminishes our sense of importance, increases prosocial relationality, and increases social integration — a greater desire to connect and contribute.
Awe Increases Our Sense of Purpose
When we experience the small self, we acknowledge that we are tiny in the vastness of the universe, and we feel the sense of boundaries dissolve. And yet, some part of us remains intact. That remaining part brings clarity to our values and our place in the world, leading to a greater, more aligned sense of purpose and meaning.
Awe-Informed Therapy
Awe can be experienced through nature, music, art, acts of moral beauty, spiritual mysticism, witnessing birth and death, and also epiphanies. Awe shifts our sense of self, helps us live healthier lives, and supports us in the pursuit of our purpose.
At Threshold Counseling, awe is an integral part of the counseling experience. We work together to help you connect with yourself and your sense of awe, and live a full life with purpose. If you feel stuck in patterns of anxiety or depression, are navigating the weight of past experiences, or simply long to feel more connected — to yourself, to others, and to something larger — this work might be right for you. Reach out today to get started.
REFERENCES
Bai, Y., Ocampo, J., Jin, G., Chen, S., Benet-Martinez, V., Monroy, M., Anderson, C., & Keltner, D. (2021). Awe, daily stress, and elevated life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(4), 837–860. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000267
Keltner, D. (2023). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. Penguin Random House.
Monroy, M., & Keltner, D. (2023). Awe as a pathway to mental and physical health. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(2), 309–320.
Sun, Z., Hou, Y., Song, L., Wang, K., & Yuan, M. (2023). The buffering effect of awe on negative emotions in self-threatening situations. Behavioral Science, 13, 44.
Yasuda, S., Shodu, H., Yemiya, A., & Isaka, T. (2022). A review of psychological research on kando as an inclusive concept of moving experiences. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.974220
