Although he wrote many times that he was not an addictions professional, Viktor Frankl was definitely on to something when he wrote about “meaninglessness” and the Existential Vacuum leading to depression, anxiety, and, yes, substance abuse and addictions.

In my years in working with individuals with addictions, no two people have been alike.  However, there is an pattern in the lives of those who struggle with substance abuse, alcoholism, and other forms of addiction like pornography, spending, eating, and internet addiction – they struggle to discover meaning in their lives.

Not everyone who struggles to find meaning will suffer from addiction.

However, every unique individual I’ve worked with suffers from meaninglessness that led them to try substances, and to continue to use those substances to avoid the misery of that meaninglessness.

That’s why I’ve been working on this project for the past few years – amidst other projects – a course in the basics of substance abuse, addiction, and recovery.  It is free until the end of the month – I hope you will take a look and tell me what you think, and if you need help for yourself, or someone you love, that you find what you need to begin the recovery process.

https://drdan.teachable.com/p/substance-abuse-addiction-recovery

And if want to learn more about Frankl’s ideas, take a look at The Meaning Project – my course on Logotherapy and the Psychology of Meaning, I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about it – you can take a look here:

https://drdan.teachable.com/p/logotherapy-the-psychology-of-meaning