" الإنسان يبحث عن المعنى " – مقدمة في العلاج بالمعنى.. التسامي بالنفسفي كل مرة تفتح كتابًا، توقع أن يحصل لك شيئًا عظيمًا! كأن تولد من جديد .. و هذا ما حدث معي بالفعل، و تعتبر هذه ولادتي الثالثة في الحياة، فالانسان يسمو في كل مرة و يرتفع خطوة جديدة وتتبدل قناعته الأولى، فإذا ما كنت وصلت مسبقًا إلى معنى البحث عن النفس و تحقيق الذات، فإنني بعد كتاب "فرانكل" أخرج من سجن فكرة إلى فكرة أعمق!! ، من سجن الهدف و التوتر و السعي للاتزان إلى المعنى" لا يمكن التوصل إلى تحقيق الذات إذا جعله الشخص كفايه في حد ذاته، و لكن يكون هذا ممكنا إذا نظر إليه كأثر جانبي للتسامي بالذات" اتفق معه كثيرًا ، فإذا ما تحول إحقاق الذات لهدف، و بغية الوصول إليه بأي طريق، قد تؤدي إلى الضياع و عدم الشعور به حتى لو حدث و وصل إليه، يشبه ذلك من يريد السعادة كهدف، ثم يجد نفسه يأخّر حصولها في كل مرة بسبب إضافته لمعايير جديدة لسعادته!! الكتاب مقسم لثلاث أجزاء كالتالي: القسم الأول : خبرات في معسكر القتال : و فيه يطرح فرانكل خبرته و ما عاشه هو ورفاقه داخل السجن، الحقيقة أن كل ما قرأته مؤلمًا، و يجرد الحياة الانسانية من الانسان نفسه! ، أنا التي آمنت دائمًا بعظمة هذا الانسان و أن الانسانية لا يمكن أن تسلب منه تحت كل الظروف الضاغطة عليه .. يأتي هنا فرانكل ليحلل تحليلاً دقيقًا و مدهشًا لثلاث أطوار يمر بها السجين و هي كالتالي :* الصدمة الطور الأول لردود الأفعال النفسية و ذكر بعدها أمر أثار دهشتي ألا وهو " رد الفعل غير السوي إزاء موقف غير سوي هو استجابة سوية "!!* البلادة و الموت الانفعالي هما الطور الثاني لردود الأفعال النفسية يذكر هنا أن الانسان يلجأ للبلادة كوسيلة للدفاع عن الذات وتخليصها من الألم النفسي، كما تفعل روح المرح أيضا * الطور الثالث/ تحدث فيه عن سيكولوجية السجين بعد الافراج عنه ( فقدان القدرة على الاحساس بالسرور- اختلال الشخصية .. الخ ) صادفتني في هذا القسم :فقرة شيقة عنوانها " خلاص الانسان هو من خلال الحب و في الحب " يقول الحقيقة أن الحب هو الهدف الغائي و الأسمى الذي يمكن أن يطمع إليه الانسان!في الحرية و الاختيار يقول فرانكل " كل شيء يمكن أن يؤخذ من الانسان عدا شيئًا واحدًا و هذا الشيء الواحد هو آخر شيء من الحريات الانسانية – و هو أن يختار المرء اتجاهه في ظروف معينة، أي يختار المرء طريقه "تحدث أيضاً عن المعاناة و أنها شيء نسي! " إن المعاناة تغمر الروح الانسامية كلها و العقل الواعي بأكمله، بصرف النظر عما إذا كانت المعاناة كبيرة أم صغيرة _ مسألة نسبية" في نهاية هذا الجزء المؤلم والشيق! و بطريقة فرانكل في ذكر القصة و التحليل معًا، نشأت لدي شخصية معهم! و أدركت الكثير مما سلطته عليّ لأعيش سجنًا معنويًا، ولحسن الحظ أن حديث فرانكل كان ينسجم مع الحياة كليًا، ولم يقتصر على سجناء المعسكر! في نهايته كتب جملة هزتني وتوقفت عندها كثيرًا " لقد دعوت الله من سجني الضيق، فأجابني في رحابة الكون " هل لي أن أقول أن الله أرسل لي هذه الكتاب لأغرق في رحابته! و أتوسّع من داخلي؟ القسم الثاني: المبادئ الأساسية للعلاج بالمعنى: هنا يكرر الحديث مرة أخرى لكن بطريقة مدهشة و تأكيديه مفصلة و علمية أكثر سأكتب ملخصًا بسيطًا يوضح ما ذكره، لأن مثل هذا الكتاب يُغرق فيه و لايسهل الحديث عنه!* إرادة المعنى : إن سعي الانسان إلى البحث عن معنى هو قوة أولية في حياته * الاحباط الوجودي: يذكر أنه يتولد من الصراعات بين القيم المختلفة- المعنوية الأخلاقية احتفظت باقتباسات تنفي قضية الاتزان التي كنت أؤمن بها! و توضح أن فترات التوتر التي أمر بها طبيعة! - ليس كل صراع بالضرورة عصابيًا فمقدار من الصراع سوي و صحي، و كذلك ليس كل معاناة حالة مرضية و هي بالتالي ليست عرضًا من أعراض العصاب، لذا فإن المعاناة قد تكون أنجازًا انسانيًا طيباً، خاصة إذا كانت تنشأ من الاحباط الوجودي._ ليس مايحتاجه الانسان هو حالة اللاتوتر و لكنه يحتاج إلى السعي والاجتهاد في سبيل هدف يستحق أن يعيش من أجله.* الفراغ الوجودي: يقول أنه يتمثل في حالة الملل! و منه يبدأ الانسان تعويض إرادة المعنى المحبطة بـ إرادة القوة/ اللذة كما يوضح لنا طرق تمكننا من كشف المعنى في الحياة، و هي ثلاثة 1- الاتيان بفعل و عمل ( الانجاز/ التحقيق) 2- أن نخبر قيمة من القيم ( ويتحدث فيها عن معنى الحب )3- أن تعيش حالة المعاناة ( معنى المعاناة) يذكر ما قاله دوستويفكسي : يوجد شيئ واحد فقط يروعني و هو " ألا أكون جديرًا بآلامي " فإذا كان الانسان يملك معنى لحياته فمؤكد أنه سيجد معنى للمعناته وآلاآمه! " إن المعاناة تتوقف من أن تكون معاناة بشكل ما، في اللحظة التي تكتسب فيها معنى" القسم الثالث: التسامي بالذات و كانه مراجعة لكل السابق بمحاولة سمو الانسان بذاته و تجاوزها.و أخيرًا هناك نقطة قيمة لصالح العلاج بالمعنى وهي [إ ن العلاج بالمعنى يرى في " الالتزام بالمسؤلية" الجوهر الحقيقي للوجود الانسان]و هذه تعني أنه سيلفت نظرك لما يجب أن تفكر فيه، لكنه ابدًا لن يفرض عليك قرارته، فالأمر كله ينبع من داخلك، من أعماقك
Throughout history humanity has always been in search of purpose and meaning to our existence on this earth. One of the oldest jokes in the world is the young person asking the ancient one, “What is the meaning of life?” and receiving some sort of reply like, “If you find out, you let me know, okay?!”Viktor Frankl’s classic work was originally written in 1945 and published in 1959. I own a 1984 paperback edition of the book which had already been through seventy-three editions in English alone, not to mention nineteen other languages. I mention this because all other facts I quote will come from my copy of the book, unless stated otherwise; for more recent information, the reader is encouraged to look up Dr. Frankl and this seminal work in psychiatry on-line and see all the further developments which have occurred in subsequent years. It is truly staggering the influence this book has had.The first half of the book is devoted to the good doctor’s life-transforming experiences as a ‘guest’ in a Nazi concentration camp. Perhaps I should not jest—even lightly—about such a serious matter and yet I suspect our author would not mind. He was a man of incredible insight and wisdom. Humor was a resource he well-appreciated; encouraging his patients to use it as a part of therapy.Prior to this I had never read past the first half of the book; I was only interested in the autobiographical portion of the book. As I have mentioned in previous posts, a surfeit of psychology books in college, both undergraduate and graduate level, left me with no taste for further reading on the subject. More is the pity because Dr. Frankl’s book is as much philosophy and religion as it is dry scientific studies and theories on human behavior patterns. His extraordinary experiences coupled with a brilliant mind would not allow his thinking to be pigeon-holed as many contemporary books on the subject seem to be.Without further rhetoric on my part, here are some of my favorite parts and quotes from Man’s Search For Meaning:‘I think it was Lessing who once said, “There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to lose.” An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.’ (p32)‘Strangely enough, a blow which does not even find its mark can, under certain circumstances, hurt more than one that finds its mark.’ (p36)‘Some men lost all hope, but it was the incorrigible optimists who were the most irritating companions.’ (p46)‘In spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the life in the concentration camp, it was possible for a rich spiritual life to deepen. Sensitive people who were used to a rich intellectual life may have suffered much pain (they were often of a delicate constitution), but the damage to their inner selves was less. They were able to retreat from their terrible surroundings to a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom. Only in this way can one explain the apparent paradox that some prisoners of a less hardy make-up often seemed to survive camp life better than did those of a more robust nature.’ (p47)‘I understood how a man who has nothing left in the world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way—an honorable way—in such a position a man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment.’ (p49)(Dr. Frankl lost his entire family to the gas chambers. In the above quote, he is describing how he used the image of his wife—already dead, although he did not know it—to inspire, uplift and keep him alive through the long days of his captivity.)‘To draw an analogy: a man’s suffering is similar to the behavior of a gas . . . Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the “size” of the human suffering is absolutely relative.’ (p55)‘Does this not bring to mind the story of Death in Teheran? A rich and mighty Persian once walked in his garden with one of his servants. The servant cried that he had just encountered Death who threatened him. He begged his master to give him the fastest horse so he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse. On returning to his house the master himself met Death, and questioned him, “Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?” “I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran,” said Death.’‘Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.’ (p75)‘If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death.’¹ (p76)‘(What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you.) Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being. Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.’ (p90)‘A man’s concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease. (His) suffering may well be a human achievement, especially if the suffering grows out of existential frustration. . . . Logotherapy regards its assignment as that of assisting the patient to find meaning in his life.’ (p108)One of the most interesting treatment techniques which Dr. Frankl offers his patients is something he calls “paradoxical intention” based on, ‘the twofold fact that fear brings about that which one is afraid of, and that hyper-intention makes impossible what one wishes.’ (p126) He goes on to describe a man he cured of profuse sweating by instructing the man to imagine increasing his output of sweat under stressful situations.While our author believes in responsibility for one’s actions (he advocates a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast) he also believes in every person’s free will to determine their own future at all times. He cites a case of a well-known Nazi mass-murderer who made a stunning turn-around later in life; he has no sympathy for pre-determinism. ‘How can we dare to predict the behavior of man?’ (p134)Whether we are aware of it or not and regardless of our willingness to admit to it, we all have agendas in our reading. For myself, in the past I was often unaware and/or dishonest about my own reasons for selecting this or that book. However, what I find most enlightening now is when I begin a book for one purpose and finish it for quite another.In the case of Man’s Search For Meaning I began the book in search of arguments to refute George Orwell’s conclusion of the novel 1984 and finished this present work in total fascination with Logotherapy and its associated theories and treatments.
What do You think about Man's Search For Meaning (2006)?
“A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the "why" for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any 'how'.” - Viktor E FranklI read an interesting article in the NYTImes a couple weeks ago that lead me to finally pick this book up. Actually, a couple good articles. The first was titled 'Love People, Not Pleasure' and it was about how "this search for fame, the lust for material things and the objectification of others — that is, the cycle of grasping and craving — follows a formula that is elegant, simple and deadly: Love things, use people." The author uses an inversion of this formula that DOES lead to happiness: Use things, Love People (also quoted by Spencer W. Kimball). This article + another recent one from the Atlantic titled 'There's More to Life Than Being Happy' made it clearly evident to me that I needed to finally dust off my yellowed, Goodwill copy of Man's Search for Meaning, plug in my earbuds and experience this book that the Universe clearly wanted me to read this week.So, imagine a renowned Jewish therapist writes in 1946 (in 9 days) about his experiences at and survival in Auschwitz, and then adds his own psychotherapeutic method (Logotherapy), finding happiness by finding a meaning, a responsibility, a love, and ultimately self-determining. Perhaps it is a consequence of Frankl's work surrounding me in other writings, in popular psychotherapy, in various internet Memes and articles OR perhaps it is just a consequence of my own resilience to my own suffering that this book wasn't much of a revelation. I was like ... yup, makes a lot of sense. Good job. I think it is a great book for what it is. I just don't always get super-excited by self-help psychology books. This one is on the better end of the bell curve for this type, but I guess my problem is with the type. Other than that (minus 1-star for my type bias) it was a great book.
—Darwin8u
كتاب جميل جدا ومهم في مجال الصحة النفسية يستعرض الدكتور فرانكل تجربته الذاتية وخبراته في معسكرات النازية وكيف استطاع من خلال إيمانه بمعنى وجوده من الإستمرار في مقاومة حياة الذل كيف أعطى لنفسه معنى حين ألغي وجوده في المعسكر وتحول لمجرد رقم من خلال تحقيقه الانتصار الداخلي الكاتب وصف المراحل التي يمر بها السجين منها مرحلة النكوص مرحلة اختلال الشخصية ومرحلة البلادة مرحلة العدم ومحاولات الإنتحار كما يتحدث باسهاب عن المعاناة والألم النفسيالمشوق في الكتاب أنه يضرب أمثلة من واقع تجربته شخصيا يشرح في الجزء الثاني من الكتاب المبادىء الأساسية للعلاج بالمعنى الكتاب قيّم جدا لمن يعانون من الإحباط وحالات الإكتئاب
—mai ahmd
After the Book of Mormon, this would be my second recommendation to anyone looking for purpose in life. Here's a poignant excerpt from one of my favorite parts of the book when Frankl has been in Auschwitz and other camps for several years and doesn't know the war is only weeks away from ending. He had decided to escape his camp near Dachau with a friend and was visiting some of his patients for the last time."I came to my only countryman, who was almost dying, and whose life it had been my ambition to save in spite of myself, but my comrade seemed to guess that something was wrong (perhaps I showed a little nervousness). In a tired voice he asked me, 'You too, are getting out?' I denied it, but I found it difficult to avoid his sad look. After my round I returned to him. Again a hopeless look greeted me and somehow I felt it to be an accusation. The unpleasant feeling that had gripped me as soon as I had told my friend I would escape with him became more intense. Suddenly I decided to take fate into my own hands for once. I ran out of the hut and told my friend that I could not go with him. As soon as I had told him with finality that I had made up my mind to stay with my patients, the unhappy feeling left me. I did not know what the following days would bring, but I had gained an inward peace that I had never experienced before. I returned to the hut, sat down on the boards at my countryman's feet and tried to comfort him..."I found such strength and wisdom in this book--strength and advice for me as a mother of five young children. While potty training, bending over to clean up a handful of toys for the the thousandth time that day, scraping Play Dough off of a filthy kitchen floor on hands and knees, and preparing the fifth snack of the day for several hungry mouths (directly after doing the dishes from the previous snack) I find the text of this book to give profound meaning to small and simple acts of selflessness, patience, and service. What a profound reminder that "The immediate influence of behavior is always more effective than that of words." I desperately needed to read this book, if only to remember to be calm and kind to my little ones so that they will pass on the favor to their own next generation. Bravo to Viktor Frankl for bringing human frailty and greatness into perspective."Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." -Frankl
—Emily
