> [!INFO] Application Note > [[Man's Search for Meaning Application]] ## 1 - A man can find solace during times of absolute terror through inner thoughts and emotions - Loved ones, nature, laughter, anything that makes you feel warm - Even if his wife were to be dead, he would still vividly imagine their love - Tiny experiences grant us freedom - Despite the influence of one's environment, we are still able to preserve our human dignity through our choices - Suffering is an inevitable part of life, and it is integral for human living - Helps add meaning to one's life, but it is our choice on how we do it - Sometimes, we need exceptionally difficult situations to grow spiritually - One's "inner hold" allowed them to not fall into the control of the Nazis - Having a lack of direction changes our perception of time - Days feel exhausting, and can even feel like previous weeks - Our emotions of suffering disappear once we clearly visualize it - Instead of figuring out life, we should figure out what life wants from us - Life means to find our purpose and fulfill it - Life is concrete and form our destiny; there is only one right answer - This can include suffering, which we must uphold and follow through - Our purposes are completely unique to us, and there is no one that can replace what we must do - Thus, we must persevere and use our purpose as motivation to continue - Are our losses really that significant? Do they really outweigh our future potential and current state? - Our experiences can never be taken away from us - There are two kinds of people; the decent and indecent person - Concentration camps amplieifed their differences - After falling victim to extreme despersonalization and degradation, released prisoners were less moral with their actions as they used their treatment as an excuse to cause harm - By being neglected after being free, the prisoners experienced further suffering - Suffering has no limits - After overcoming suffering, you lose the abillity to fear certain things ## 2 ### Logotherapy - Logotherapy is similar to psychoanalysis where a patient converses with a doctor, but in logotherapy, the doctor tells disagreeable advice to the patient - Focuses on a patient's future and meaning - Finding meaning in one's life is the primary motivational force in man - Logotherapy helps a patient become aware of their responsibilites - It is up to the patient to decide, not the doctor - ex) An eye specialist compared to a painter - We are willing to die for our ideas and values - People are more interested in finding their purpose than making money - Noogenic neuroses (related to human existence) are best solved by finding a person's meaning (logotherapy) - Man's search for meaning is an existential distress but not a disease - It is abstract and is never fully explained - Assistance through therapy should be used, not medicine - Having a purpose (Noo-Dynamics) fortifies our mental (and possibly physical) health - Instead of having equilibrium, we need tension/suffering in our life - The existensial vacuum refers to how a modern man's purpose is greatly influenced by conformism and totaliarianism - People become depressed during alone/down time because they are no longer distracted by external stimuli, and are left to their own thoughts - Boredom is as concerning as distress - Existensial vacuums can be temporarily solved through power, money, or pleasure - We are responsible for finding out what we are meant to do in life - `Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!` - Addresses finiteness and finality of life - The more a person forgets themselves through serving others, the more self-actualization - In reality, self-actualization is only possible through self-transcendence - We can figure out our purpose by: - Creating works or doing deeds - Experiencing something or encountering someone - Our attitude towards unavoidable suffering - Love is the only way we can intimately connect with other people and understand them - Through love, we help others actualize their potential - Sex is a way of expressing the togetherness of love - When faced with unavoidable tragedys like sickness, we are forced to change ourselves - Highlighted an excerpt - We should be willing to suffer through unavoidable events to find meaning - If there is no meaning to suffering, there is no meaning to survival - Just like how an ape may not understand the purpose of their brutal medical testing, we might have a reason for suffering that extends our rational dimensions - To cope with death, we must acknowledge all our contributions and experiences - Instead of focusing on the decrease in days, we can focus on the things we have already done - Having limited time provides meaning in our decisions - Having been is the surest kind of being - Anticipatory anxiety refers to when the anticipation/fear of an event causes more harm than the actual event - Hyper-intention refers to how the more we try to consciously do something, the less effective we are - As a result, hyper-reflection can lead to sickness - ex) Focusing on your partner rather than orgasm helps you last longer - ex) Focusing on trying to sleep when wanting to sleep - Try your best to stay awake - Thus, being conscious of things help mitigate it's effects - Paradoxical intention - Paradoxical intention is effective regardless of the etiological basis of the case - By ironically countering our symptoms, we can learn to ignore them - self-transcendence acts as a cue to being cured - Counteracts nihilism through the finding of purpose - It is our choice to change - Man is ultimately self-determining - Our freedom is determined by our responsibility ## 3 - Tragic Optimism - The tragic triad consists of pain, guilt, and death - Tragic optimism allows us to: 1. Turn suffering into accomplishment and achievement 2. Use guilt to change ourselves for the better - Unfortunately, today's society does not only fail to help people cope with suffering, but also degrades those who are 3. Use the inevitability of death to take responsible action - Nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured - Our value is not solely based off our current skills, for we should also consider our previous accomplishments - Forcing ourselves to be happy results in paradoxical intention - Thus, we must focus on actually finding happiness - Finding meaning is a widespread issue in therapy (30%) - People with failed suicide attempts were able to find solutions to their problems and were happy they continued to live - Agression can be solved through a joined purpose - Addiction can be solved through a purpose to fulfill - Our life is like a movie, we will never understand the complete picture until the very end > So, let us be alert—alert in a twofold sense: Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake. - self-transcendence: the application of positive effort, technique, acceptance of limitations, and wise decisions - “the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.” - “The meaning of your life is to help others find the meaning of theirs.” ___ References: