My friend has existential fears. Don't we all have them sometimes? Especially here in the US I think these fears are very understandable. But even in Germany I met people who, although they had absolute job security and were otherwise also relatively well-protected, suffered from terrible existential fears.
I know that my fears have mostly nothing to do with reality. I am talking myself into my fears. (I am not talking about anxiety that comes up when a woman faces a hungry lion in the Sahara. This is a fear that would be based on reality. And this fear might save her life.)