Man’s search for meaning.

[Mindful]

Meaning as a cure for depression and other ills.

In Man’s Search for Meaning, psychiatrist and neurologist Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) wrote about his ordeal as a concentration camp inmate during the Second World War. Interestingly, he found that those who survived longest in concentration camps were not those who were physically strong, but those who retained a sense of control over their environment.

Man's Search for Meaning

 

[Mindful]

~ He observed:

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s own attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way."

Frankl’s message is ultimately one of hope: even in the most absurd, painful, and dispiriting of circumstances, life can be given a meaning, and so too can suffering. Life in the concentration camp taught Frankl that our main drive or motivation in life is neither pleasure, as Freud had believed, nor power, as Adler had believed, but meaning.

 

[Moonglow]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

 

[Mindful]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Well, it would take your mind off things.

 

[task0778]

" those who survived longest in concentration camps were not those who were physically strong, but those who retained a sense of control over their environment. "

I would've reworded that to say 'those who retained a sense of self-control' over their environment. There are some facets of life and your environment that you just can't change or control. But you can control yourself as much as possible to deal with whatever situation you find yourself in. Each of us gets to decide for ourselves what the meaning of our own life is, and if it's too self-centered then things can sorta get out of control.

" So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed? "

Doing something positive is better than not doing something. Cleaning the house might not be the greatest achievement in life, but it's a step in the right direction.

 

[bluzman61]

~ He observed:

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s own attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way."

Frankl’s message is ultimately one of hope: even in the most absurd, painful, and dispiriting of circumstances, life can be given a meaning, and so too can suffering. Life in the concentration camp taught Frankl that our main drive or motivation in life is neither pleasure, as Freud had believed, nor power, as Adler had believed, but meaning.

Nice post. Thank you.

 

[Mindful]

" those who survived longest in concentration camps were not those who were physically strong, but those who retained a sense of control over their environment. "

I would've reworded that to say 'those who retained a sense of self-control' over their environment. There are some facets of life and your environment that you just can't change or control. But you can control yourself as much as possible to deal with whatever situation you find yourself in. Each of us gets to decide for ourselves what the meaning of our own life is, and if it's too self-centered then things can sorta get out of control.

Well said.

 

[Mindful]

Actually, Moonglow, I’m looking for a cleaner. Are you any good?

 

[Moonglow]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Well, it would take your mind off things.

Yes, I used it many many years ago to get over women...Along with sixteen hour days seven days a week working my business....

 

[Moonglow]

Actually, Moonglow, I’m looking for a cleaner. Are you any good?

Nein...I retired and live in squalor but I am not depressed about it.

 

[SootedUpCyndi]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

 

[JoeMoma]

This is a handy website for searching for meanings:

Merriam-Webster: America's Most Trusted Dictionary

Find definitions for over 300,000 words from the most authoritative English dictionary. Continuously updated with new words and meanings.

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[Moonglow]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Why in the hell would I depress myself by having a long term relationship?

 

[SootedUpCyndi]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Why in the hell would I depress myself by having a long term relationship?

ha ha ha ha. I guess that's a good point.

 

[Moonglow]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Why in the hell would I depress myself by having a long term relationship?

ha ha ha ha. I guess that's a good point.

It would be okay if they didn't turn in my Mother... Is that a Freudian slip or girdle?

 

[Mindful]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Neff’s stories of rivers and forests struck a chord in me. Looking at the Milky Way at night. I saw a meaning in all that.

 

[Moonglow]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Neff’s stories of rivers and forests struck a chord in me. Looking at the Milky Way at night. I saw a meaning in all that.

I love living in the country so I can actually see the Milky Way unlike when I lived in the suburbs. Now, I work at night at a campground and get to stargaze all through my shift....

 

[SootedUpCyndi]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Why in the hell would I depress myself by having a long term relationship?

ha ha ha ha. I guess that's a good point.

It would be okay if they didn't turn in my Mother... Is that a Freudian slip or girdle?

On the opposite side of the coin.. There's the daddy factor..

 

[task0778]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Absolutely. Clean the place up, wash the dishes, and give her a foot massage when she gets home, and you are GOLDEN. All kidding aside, a happy woman is about the closest thing to heaven you're gonna find. I'll leave it to your imaginations about an unhappy woman and what that's close to.

Seriously though, doing something nice for somebody else is just about the best way to make you feel better about yourself.

 

[Moonglow]

So, I need to clean the house to not be depressed?

Your woman would love it.

Why in the hell would I depress myself by having a long term relationship?

ha ha ha ha. I guess that's a good point.

It would be okay if they didn't turn in my Mother... Is that a Freudian slip or girdle?

On the opposite side of the coin.. There's the daddy factor..

I haven't talk to him in fifty years, he's mad at me for telling him he was a bad Dad....Oh you mean the relationships with a woman, well I am daddy when I spank.