Ideas on Mental Health & Meaning
Why We Need a Meaning Academy
The more we talk about it, the more people seem to agree - there is an absence of meaning in modern life. We think something needs to be done about that. What better way to celebrate 99 episodes of The Meaning Project Podcast than with a chat with our friend, Rabbi...
Living a Truly Meaningful Life
There are three areas in life in which we can discover meaning - our creative values, our experiential values, and our attitudinal values. Terry Fossum lives a truly meaningful life. He's creative - you can see that in his storytelling and ideas in the book The Oxcart...
The Science of Personality Assessment
"Personality Assessments are Dumb...." Former guest of The Meaning Project Podcast, Matthew Lostaglia, issued a public challenge on social media - he threw down the gauntlet straight '30's style boxing... He came at me and said something like this, "I don't believe in...
Mental Health, Meaning, and Corrections
Part of my clinical work for the past 20 years has been incorporating mental health and logotherapy into theories and practice of substance abuse treatment. This has brought me close to the corrections industry - sometimes more commonly thought of as "jail" or...
Connecting to Your Soul
We talk quite a bit about the nöos, or the spirit or soul, in logotherapy. Dr. Frankl was the first theorist to suggest that humankind was more than just mind and body, but that we also had a "defiant human spirit". In this chat with clinical social worker, Debbie...
Surviving Epstein: How a Safety Plan Can Prevent Sexual Assault
Jess Michaels is an Epstein survivor who struggled with the physical symptoms of sexual assault for over 25 years - culminating in Adrenal Fatique Syndrome; until her involvement with the families of Sandy Hook reawakened her trauma and forced her to make cognitive...
The Question Life Asks Us
The question life ask us, and in answering which we can realize the meaning of the present moment, does not only change from hour to hour but also changes from person to person: the question is entirely different in each moment for every individual. What is waiting...
Is It Depression, or Are You “Just Not Feeling It”?
I'm just not feeling it this episode. Haven't been "feelin' it" for a little while now. But then again, many of us "aren't feeling it" - are we depressed? Am I depressed? Or, maybe, is it a case of The Winter Blues - "Seasonal Affect Disorder" - or the body's natural...
The Meaning of Military Retirement
Retirement can often lead to the dreaded "Existential Vacuum" if we are not prepared to take meaningful action after the end of the job. Navy Chief Petty Officer (Retired) Joseph Paul and I have been friends for quite a while, so we typically have quite a bit to talk...
Narcissists Among Us
There are Narcissists among us. But maybe not as many as you think. And most of us shouldn't be throwing around that label as casually as we are - and we CERTAINLY shouldn't be "researching" it (ie. Doctor Google & WebMD) it online! So, if there is someone in our...
How Cyber Security Can Help You “Hack Your Potential”
What in the world does cyber security have to do with Mental Health and Meaning? Well, if you've ever had your security breached, you know the negative impact it can have on your mental health! Heuric Rako is a Cyber Security professional with over 8 years in the...
Why Hasn’t Logotherapy Scaled in the US?
If you've been following this email, or The Meaning Project Podcast for the past year, you know what's about to happen. If you know, you know. When Rabbi B. and I get together, good conversations about Logotherapy happen. This episode is no exception. Yeah, we start...