Man's Search For Meaning was written by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, an Austrian-born author-psychiatrist/neurologist, and a Holocaust survivor. The book was first published in Austria in 1946 and was later translated into more than 20 languages, with millions of copies sold.
The book is sectioned into two parts. Part one talks about his holocaust experience, the emotions that he and his inmates experienced, human tenacity, the three phases of mental reactions to camp life, and finding beauty, humor, and hope in the midst of it all.
And part two talks about logotherapy-a therapeutic doctrine, which is all about finding meaning in suffering, finding meaning in life, man's search for the meaning of his existence, the twentieth-century existential vacuum, and tracing neuroses back to a feeling of hopelessness and meaninglessness.
It's such a beautifully written book, containing much relevant information about the importance of finding meaning in one's existence, and the causes of existential crisis, which is widely prevalent in the younger generations.
It beautifully explains the human emotions, and our need to connect with a meaningful cause, the apathy/boredom that comes with disregarding the meaning of our existence, and the need for each individual to answer life's question to them "what is the meaning of your existence?", by living a meaningful/purposeful and responsible life.
It's one of those few books that grips your attention, where you're completely engrossed, and forget about blinking; and when all is read and the book is put aside, the lines of the author, echoes back to you. Read on, to know more.
PART ONE: EXPERIENCES IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP
Dr. Frankl was a practicing psychiatrist in Austria's largest state hospital, who was in charge of the pavilion- an accommodation for severely depressed people who had attempted suicide. During the 4years of working there, he noticed the reason behind and cure for depression, aggression, and addictions, and started to develop a manuscript for his new book about what he just discovered- LOGOTHERAPY.
During this time, he had to travel in a coach with 1500 others to Poland, to an unknown destination that he later found out to be Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Where he and his coach-mates were deprived of all their possessions, stripped naked, shaved, and given a number, for the purpose of mass slaughter.
"What remains is the last of human freedoms- the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances".
When he and his inmates found themselves in a hopeless situation- vast areas of land with gas chambers, crematoriums, and massacres all around; shouted commands and shrills of cry of victims calling for help; they changed their attitude toward the situation, as they came to realise that the situation could not be changed.
Humor and laughter ensue at the end of the day, in the midst of cruelty. Each day was a mix of hard labour, starvation, painful insults, and whippings; poking fun at each other, sharing stories, trying to find meaning in the suffering, and hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel. That someday they might come out of this, they might be reprieved or set free; someday they might reunite with their family.
THE THREE PHASES OF MENTAL REACTIONS TO CAMP LIFE:
STATE OF SHOCK: following his admission, upon arrival at Auschwitz.
STATE OF APATHY: blunting of emotions, after seeing the constant injustice and cruelty. As if one could not care anymore.
DEPERSONALISATION: everything seems unreal; you don't know how to be human again. The body has fewer inhibitions than the mind.
STATE OF SHOCK:
"In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as delusion of reprieve. The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute. No one could yet grasp the fact that everything would be taken away. all we possessed, literally, was our naked existence.”
The initial reaction, after setting foot in Auschwitz after days and nights of being clueless about where they were going, was-shock. He says he saw people being massacred in gas chambers, heard loud cries of victims, and people running toward electrical barbed wire fences in order to attempt suicide. He says that you try not to believe, and you don't know how to react, as you're totally caught off-guard. He says that you experience delusion of reprieve, that maybe you might escape the punishment or they might set you free at the last moment.
2. STATE OF APATHY:
The author says he experienced lack of emotion/concern after experiencing never-ending labour, starvation in the camp, and people dying every day due to disease/starvation/mass massacres/suicide. He says they were reduced to bones quickly, and their feet were swollen with blisters from walking in the cold. Apathy is a lack of feeling/concern about the things going on around you. A lack of interest post-trauma in order to handle the pain. Loss of hope sets in when you get acclimatised to what seems as a never-changing hopeless situation. You are indifferent and disinterested all the time and show little or no emotion.
3. DEPERSONALISATION:
Post liberation, the author says that he and his fellow survivors instead of feeling happy felt numb, disconnected, and didn't know how to be human again. He says they were bitter, lost, and started behaving meanly to each other. Because, after being mistreated for so long, with no hope left for possible liberation, he says that they did not know how to react once liberated.
They had been unjustly stripped of their jobs, possessions, and loved ones. The author and his sister were the only survivors. His parents, brother, and wife had been killed. So he came back to nothing, after his liberation. So how could he find life worth preserving? He had to find meaning in his suffering. To consider suffering as ennobling, rather than degrading. So he started to build up the manuscript for his book once again. Which lead to the publishing of what he discovered- LOGOTHERAPY- THE WILL TO MEANING.
PART TWO: LOGOTHERAPY IN A NUTSHELL
LOGOS in Greek means "MEANING". And LOGOTHERAPY, aka-"THE THIRD VIENNESE SCHOOL OF PSYCHOTHERAPY", focuses on the meaning of human existence and man's search for such meaning.
He says that finding meaning in life/suffering/his existence is the primary motivational force in a man.
1. FINDING MEANING IN HIS WORK:
"Man is able to live and even die for the sake of his ideals and values!"
The author noticed that when his inmates lost hope for the future, they gave up mentally and physically, and let themselves decline. And the suicide rates went high post-liberation, as the prisoners did not find hope for the future; because they had lost their family, friends, and possessions, and were de-humanised.
Dr. Frankl is fond of quoting Nietzsche "he who has a WHY to live can bear with almost any how."
"The prisoners who survived had a strong "WHY" to live for", says the author. For him, he said it was the hope that someday he might reunite with his wife. He said that dreaming about his wife, and talking to her in his head, and feeling the love is what kept him alive.
2. FINDING MEANING IN LOVE:
"The salvation of a man is through love and in love."
Love is the purest emotion. And when in love, DOPAMINE- "the pleasure neurochemical" levels increase, which helps in pursuit/drive/motivation, enduring the difficulty, and overcoming obstacles in the way of pursuit.
In a research study involving dopamine levels in mice and the desire for rewards, they concluded that mice with high and depleted dopamine levels desired for rewards (getting to eat cheese by pressing the lever). But if the lever was kept a rat's length away from the mice with depleted dopa levels, they simply wouldn't have the drive to move; highlighting the importance of dopamine in active pursuit.
3. FINDING MEANING IN SUFFERING:
"There is no limit to the extent of suffering one can endure."
In the concentration camp, the author says with such limited individual space, lack of water and hygiene, he still had healthy gums and survived in the midst of starvation and disease; implying the length of human tenacity. He says" you could not only suffer more but more intensely than before."
EXISTENTIAL FRUSTRATION- aka existential vacuum, is a term used to denote the emptiness that one feels; the inability to find meaning in his life. The author says that this existential frustration is more prevalent in the twentieth century due to the instant access to their needs that modern convenience provides. They tend to be less resilient and more depressed and feel as if they have this large hole that needs to be filled.
"Existential vacuum is the mass neurosis of the present time."
Existential frustration can result in NOOGENIC NEUROSIS, which is a term in logotherapy to denote neurosis stemming from existential frustration. In Greek, "NOOS" means "MIND", and Dr. Frankl introduces a new term NOOGENIC NEUROSIS, implying that it stems from the existential vacuum, rather than PSYCHOGENIC NEUROSIS which stems from CONFLICTING THOUGHTS.
Here are some of the symptoms of EXISTENTIAL FRUSTRATION:
Apathy
Boredom
Lack of interest
Low energy
Anxiety
Depression
SUNDAY NEUROSIS- The void you feel at the end of the weekday when there's no work to fill in your thoughts. It's the anxiety/depression that sets in when you become aware of the emptiness of your life.
"Sunday neurosis, is that kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest.”
We often try to distract ourselves and fill this void with:
Pleasure
Power
Money
Alcohol/drugs
Violence
Internet/phones
In research studies/experiments done, findings of this existential vacuum were found among suicide groups, aggressors, and addicts. Depression, aggression, and addictions are so pervasive in the younger generations, thus forming the THREE FACETS OF MASS NEUROTIC SYNDROME:
1. DEPRESSION- When Dr. Frankl was in charge of the pavilion- an accommodation for the severely depressed, he asked them what made them attempt suicide and if they were glad that they survived. And almost all of the patients said that they were glad they survived as they had found a solution/answer to their problem. The main reason for their suicide attempt boiled down to a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, and a feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness.
2. AGGRESSION- In an experiment done by Carolyn Wood Sherif, an American psychologist. aggression was artificially built up between groups of boy scouts. and was only subsided when the youngsters dedicated themselves to a collective purpose. Denoting the importance of having to align your life to a meaningful goal.
3. ADDICTION- Findings presented by Annemarie Von Forstmeyer show that 90% of alcoholics suffered from an abysmal feeling of meaninglessness. And according to a study done by Stanley Krippner, 100% of drug addicts suffered from this existential vacuum.
LIVING A RESPONSIBLE LIFE:
Dr. Frankl says that each man is questioned by life, about the meaning of his existence, rather than him asking life what the meaning of his existence is. Also that it's the responsibility of each individual to answer life's question by living a conscientious life- A SELF-TRANSCENDENT LIFE. Change as a whole human race starts with each individual taking responsibility for his own actions.
SELF-ACTUALISATION VS SELF-TRANSCENDENCE:
" Self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence."
SELF-ACTUALISATION: is the attainment of the highest level of psychological development, and realisation of one's full potential. Self-actualised people possess high morality and self-acceptance. They are dedicated to a higher cause and lead a fuller life.
SELF-TRANSCENDENCE: at it's core is about transcending the self and relating to that which is greater than self. While self-actualisation is self-discovery, self-transcendence is about being discovered in the world; about being an integral part of the universe.
We self-transcend through:
Creating a work/doing a deed.
Experiencing something/encountering someone.
The attitude we take towards unavoidable suffering.
TRAGIC OPTIMISM:
THE TRAGIC TRIAD: the three experiences which often lead to existential crisis:
Pain
Guilt
Death
TRAGIC OPTIMISM: optimism in the face of tragedy. It's about:
Turning suffering into achievement and accomplishment.
Deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better.
Deriving from life's transitoriness the incentive to take responsible action.
"Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning."
KNOW HOW TO SUFFER:
Pain- Deciding not to be broken by what happens to you. Turning predicaments into human achievements.
Guilt- You are responsible for overcoming guilt, by changing for the better, growing beyond yourself, and rising above it.
Death- To understand life's transitoriness and using it as an opportunity to act conscientiously and live a meaningful life.
LOGOTHERAPY TECHNIQUES:
While PSYCHOTHERAPY deals with the past, LOGOTHERAPY is about the future. The three techniques used in logotherapy are:
1. DE-REFLECTION: Focusing away from yourself. To spend less time thinking about your problem. This technique is useful for HYPER-REFLECTION- which is common in people with ANTICIPATORY ANXIETY (post-trauma the patients feel the need to be ready/prepared for any bad event that might occur in the future, so they worry about a threat that does not exist)
2. PARADOXICAL INTENTION: To face your fears in order to overcome them. It's useful for people who are paralysed by anxiety/phobias.
3. SOCRATIC DIALOGUE: Process of self-discovery. It's a discussion between the therapist and the client about various topics, as the therapist listens closely to how the client describes things. Then he points out the words and phrases they have dialogued with him to bring awareness to them by allowing them to notice and interpret the meaning of their dialogues; by allowing the client to notice that he has the answers to most of his life questions.
In conclusion, I hope you read this book if you haven't, as we all at some point in our lives feel like we don't know what's happening in our lives, and why it's happening; we are completely lost and clueless about what the meaning of it all is. It feels like we are oscillating between distress and boredom and no cause to passionately align our lives to. And if there is one message that you need to takeaway from this book, it is to turn all your frustration, pain, worry, and annoyances into achievements.
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