A Meaning for Health
February 19th 2007 21:58
Imagine you have been taken away by the military. You have no idea whether you will ever see those you love again. You are put in a camp and you have no idea whether you will come out alive. Who do you think were most likely to survive?
This actually happened to Victor Frankl during World War Two. He wrote a book about it called Man’s Search For Meaning. (The title reflects that it was written before feminism had made much impact on our language.)
During his time in the camp Frankl observed that it wasn’t necessarily the young and healthy who survived. So what did affect the chance of someone surviving? Having a reason to live.
Those who had a reason to live were more likely to survive than those who didn’t – however young and fit they were. Frankl movingly describes the other prisoners recognising someone who had given up living – and how they would sometimes commit suicide by walking into the electrified fence surrounding the camp.
This experience led to Frankl formulating his own style of psychotherapy. He called it “logotherapy”. This translates roughly as ‘meaning therapy’. During his therapy sessions he was known for asking his clients why they didn’t commit suicide – as a way of finding out what they lived for.
Having a meaning to live for means we are more likely to keep living. This doesn’t have to be a big, cosmic thing. It can be our spouse and friends, a club we belong to, a cause we believe in. But having something you believe in is good for your health.
From my point of view it’s better if it is something worthy that we believe in – caring for others, saving the planet, living spiritually – but that is another question. How good the reason is for your living doesn’t matter too much for your health.
So, for our living healthily, the usual things are only part of the story. If we eat good food and get enough exercise we will feel better for it. But having a meaning for our life is part of the story too.
Thankfully, those of us in the West are less likely to be imprisoned for no reason than those living in Europe during World War Two. But what was learnt in this extreme situation is still important, and useful for us. Health, the ability to live in difficult situations, is not only to do with diet and exercise (important as they are), it is also to do with having a reason to live.
This actually happened to Victor Frankl during World War Two. He wrote a book about it called Man’s Search For Meaning. (The title reflects that it was written before feminism had made much impact on our language.)
During his time in the camp Frankl observed that it wasn’t necessarily the young and healthy who survived. So what did affect the chance of someone surviving? Having a reason to live.
Those who had a reason to live were more likely to survive than those who didn’t – however young and fit they were. Frankl movingly describes the other prisoners recognising someone who had given up living – and how they would sometimes commit suicide by walking into the electrified fence surrounding the camp.
This experience led to Frankl formulating his own style of psychotherapy. He called it “logotherapy”. This translates roughly as ‘meaning therapy’. During his therapy sessions he was known for asking his clients why they didn’t commit suicide – as a way of finding out what they lived for.
Having a meaning to live for means we are more likely to keep living. This doesn’t have to be a big, cosmic thing. It can be our spouse and friends, a club we belong to, a cause we believe in. But having something you believe in is good for your health.
From my point of view it’s better if it is something worthy that we believe in – caring for others, saving the planet, living spiritually – but that is another question. How good the reason is for your living doesn’t matter too much for your health.
So, for our living healthily, the usual things are only part of the story. If we eat good food and get enough exercise we will feel better for it. But having a meaning for our life is part of the story too.
Thankfully, those of us in the West are less likely to be imprisoned for no reason than those living in Europe during World War Two. But what was learnt in this extreme situation is still important, and useful for us. Health, the ability to live in difficult situations, is not only to do with diet and exercise (important as they are), it is also to do with having a reason to live.
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