Ideas on Mental Health & Meaning
A Logotherapist’s Wish
My hope for you this week is that you enjoy a meaningful, blessed, and possibly even happy, holiday. This week marks the culmination of several weeks of "preparation" for my faiths and religions. It has been a time to remember the difficulties and struggles of life,...
Want v. Ought
"The ought is the ethical directive, how our personal conscience tells us to act in response to the meaning of the moment, to make us aware that what we feel deep within us is most meaningful. If the "want" is the result of our will to meaning, it is in accord with...
Darkness of the Holidays
Many traditions speak of a time of "darkness" leading up to the holidays. This time of year can often be dark for many people. The change in the seasons can have a significant effect on mental, emotional, and even physical health. If you've suffered loss of a loved...
A Meaning Manifesto
Life is much more than the everyday busyness of making a living or striving for personal success. Life is much more than a constant struggle of coping with harsh reality by fighting or escaping. Life can be lived at a deeper level and on a higher plane by adopting a...
From Grumbling to Gratitude
Gratitude - the practice of reminding ourselves what we have, what we experience, to be grateful for, is a key component to psychological health and mental well being. This is the perfect time of year to practice Gratitude. Not only as we celebrate Thanksgiving, but...
Striving, Substance Use, & The Holidays Part 2
As I am finishing up writing The Meaning Centered Recovery portion of the online Substance Abuse & Recovery course on teachable.com (feel free to take a look at https://drdan.teachable.com/courses/enrolled/662861) - I have been reminded of how important "striving"...
Return of the Holidays – Part 1
There several common topics I discuss in my office at this time of year. The holidays are upon us. Thanksgiving will soon be here, quickly followed by "Black Friday" - the spending holiday - then several weeks of "joyful preparation" that may be more "stressful...
Wisdom from The Alchemist
I don't know how I've never heard of this book until now. It was published over 25 years ago, and I just became familiar with it thanks to a logotherapy conference earlier this year, and the endocrinologist who recommended it. For me, it is one of those rare books...
The Hardest Kind of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, forswears recompense from or punishment of the offender, however legally or...
Trust
"Trust is not just some vague quality that grows between two people ...it is the specific state that exists when you are both willing to change your own behavior to benefit your partner while on the other hand, distrust is when you don’t have faith in your partner,...
The Oneness of Meaning
I've been having this one idea present itself in different ways, almost every day, for the past few weeks. I've been reading (skimming) a couple of books - Franciscan priest Richard Rohr, business guru and Patrick Lencioni, and Viktor Frankl's student Elizabeth Lukas...
This @#$% Substance Abuse Problem
Maybe it's because I am too involved in the substance abuse field that it seems like it is a monstrous problem - a leviathan of social issues. But then when I think of the things I am involved in - David's Courage, and our effort to open a 44-bed residential treatment...