A long time ago I heard a psychiatrist define anxiety as the “fear of something that has never happened, but you fear it might”. Hence we get anxious. So, anxiety has some form of future focus.I have been using this definition to help client delineate… Read More »Understanding anxiety
Recently I have been chatting with some clients and discussed with them how they should be like a shark. By that, I mean, they should just keep moving; even if it is slowly. You see that if most species of sharks stop moving, the drown.… Read More »Be (like) a shark
I am not a young man, I am closer to 60 than 16, closer to the end than to the beginning; and it is for this reason that I was reluctant to take on teenage clients. I often wondered what wisdom I would have to… Read More »What I have learnt from… young men
On New Year’s Day, I played Tommy (the rock opera) by The Who on my community radio show. Listening to the show, gave me the idea for this blog post. If you are unfamiliar with Tommy, it is the story of a boy who witnesses… Read More »Break the mirror (metaphorically) to make change
G‘day folks Over the past few weeks I have been discussing what I call the 60-30-10 approach to life. I would like to say that this is an original idea…but it’s not. My problem is that I not recall where I heard this. It might… Read More »60-30-10 approach to a less stressful life.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
During World War II, Viennese psychiatrist Victor Frankl was held captive in several Nazi death camps. During this time he was able to view other prisoners and determine if someone was able to survive their experience or not based on whether they had a why to live. After the war, he went on to develop the third Viennese school of psychiatry, known as Logotherapy. (I actually do his experience a disservice in this short introduction. Please read, Man’s Search for Meaning by Frankl. It is a fascinating read.)
Part of his discussion in Logotherapy is the existential vacuum. This vacuum, to paraphrase Frankl, is created by us living an unsatisfying life and knowing we are unsatisfied, and wanting a better life, but not knowing how to transverse the vacuum to that better life. Frankl refers to this as an emptiness or inner void.
How does it come about?
Well, from my experience and those of my clients, I have seen the vacuum manifest through a feeling a meaninglessness. In other words, a feeling of achieving nothing in life, and not sure how to achieve anything–or something–in life.
Add to that feeling, the current COVID-19 environment and lock downs where we cannot go pretty much anywhere; or do anything meaningful. The we are going to fall into this vacuum and feel hopeless.
So how do we avoid the vacuum, or if you have fallen in, how do you get out?
Read More »Existential Vacuum I have been following Triggernometry for a while now. They have interviews with great people. This is another one. Well worth a watch.
Any substance that we put into our bodies, be it food, drink, or drugs (prescription or otherwise) has an effect on our body, brain and our behaviour. Some have positive effects, others negative. In this post we will discuss how illicit (illegal) drugs have on… Read More »Drugs and your brain
Sorry folks. I know I committed to a post about drugs and the brain, but I underestimated how much I had to do before the weekend ends. So, I have had to hit the hold button. However, it will will appear this week. Brian
