A lot of people would rather prefer not to think about the existential meaning of their lives. Some are too caught up in everyday routine, others have some set goals which they by no means intend to revaluate in the nearest future. Some would say that meaning is central to them, while others would claim that not having to think about the meaning of life is what a sign of a truly good life is to them.
No matter what stage you are at right now, the meaning seems to be nearly detrimental to people’s well-being. Studies have shown that having a clear sense of purpose is negatively correlated with anxiety, depression, PTSD and is related to better life satisfaction, health and longevity. Some therapists even say that most of the problems brought to the therapy are implicitly existential.
More often then not, we are pushed to think about the meaning in our life after something profound and often negative happens to us. We then can either try to fit the experiences in our existing worldview or end up completely revaluating what really matters in life. Although not everyone emerges well from a crisis of meaning, doing so usually opens many new opportunities as the old baggage of unhealthy behaviours and cognitions partially empties itself.
However, no matter which directions people tend to adapt throughout their lives, two main meaning themes tend to emerge across individuals: occupation and relationships. What one does throughout life is detrimental to meaning-making. But who cares about a person’s life seems to be even more important: people rate their lives as most meaningful when their needs for belonging and human connection are met.
Meaning Approaches in Therapy
Viktor Frankl was among the first practitioners who tried to come up with a comprehensive understanding of meaning in people’s lives and how this can be applied in therapy. An Austrian himself, he wrote a book “Man’s Search for Meaning” after having survived four Nazi concentration camps. As opposed to some of his colleagues putting an emphasis on rather simplistic and hedonistic aspects of human nature, Frankl began to claim that finding meaning in life is among the greatest and strongest human motivations. His logotherapy is based on the idea that meaning is to be found in the cultivation of inner resilience, appreciation of basic virtues (love, beauty, kindness), and meaningful work engagement. Frankl made his clients practice dereflection – an attempt to maintain focus on higher values over one’s ego; and Socratic dialogue – exploring open-ended meaning provoking questions to uncover higher aspirations. The therapist’s work in logotherapy is also directed at showing the clients practical ways through which their inspirations could be realized.
Elaborating on Frankl’s work, Paul T. P. Wong developed his meaning therapy, which is a mix of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), positive and existential psychology. Same as Frankl, he encourages people to pursue goals that are bigger than them. He also emphasizes, however, how taking personal responsibility makes things in life more meaningful. In his attempt to help existentially struggling people, Wong is guided by the PURE model he developed – purpose, understanding, responsible action and enjoyment/evaluation.
One of the essential components of existential therapy by Rank, May and Yalom is helping the client to break their engagement barriers, which prevent them from doing what they actually find meaningful. Is it the martial art class that you have long been planning to visit but never made it? Maybe you have awakened some altruistic inspirations in yourself but you don’t know where to start, or are even afraid to start? Existential therapy treatment will help in these cases, and it is proved to be especially useful for people with physical illnesses. According to Yalom, we are the active constructors of our own meaning in this inherently meaningless world. The meaning should be derived from our surrounding in a natural way by following whatever makes you feel like the hours fly.
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