Making sense, or a recipe for survival from Victor Frankl

MOSCOW. Alpina Non-fiction publishing house has published a collection of articles and lectures by the creator of speech therapy, psychologist Victor Frankl.

The absence of a meaning in life becomes that Achilles heel from which neither a tight wallet, nor an unearthly beauty, nor cool connections can save. Children’s claims to those who did not love (sweets, toys, gadgets, underline what is necessary) parents cherish to gray hair, growing into hysteria and neurosis. There are no barriers to the faint-hearted “not living”. And the frivolous “Why not?” Becomes the first step in the trap of drug addiction or unmotivated aggression.

Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist Viktor Emil Frankl has been studying the nature of suicides and depressive states for many years. Research that began while studying at Vienna University continued while working in organizations that provided psychological support to students and women with suicidal tendencies. In this field, Frankl has achieved truly brilliant results. The invaluable experience gained there, multiplied by his own insights, eventually led him to create a method of existential psychoanalysis or speech therapy.

Making sense, taking responsibility for your actions and thoughts is a chance for a bright, fulfilled life, an antidote to addictions and despair, an inexhaustible reserve of survival in the most hopeless situation. The method of existential psychoanalysis, which has proved its worth in practice, is an effective aid in the search for a saving meaning.

Logotherapy has passed the severe test in Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Once there, Frankl never for a second lost confidence that survival was guaranteed. He did not lose faith in the best himself and helped others find it. Together with other medical prisoners, he organized psychological assistance for beginners, which allowed them to cope with mental trauma and gain strength, hope and meaning.

The book “Logotherapy and Existential Analysis: Articles and Lectures” (Logotherapie und Existenzanalyse) by Victor Frankl, which includes the main works of an outstanding psychologist, was published in Russia for the first time. The areas of application of logotherapy are truly endless: the fight against addictions, complexes, neurosis, depression. It is of interest not only for professional healers of souls, but also for a wide range of readers.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru