How to rediscover meaning in your life

Follow me on Twitter @srinipillay When people feel that their lives have meaning, they perceive their lives as significant, purposeful, and valuable. This is critical for psychological wellbeing. People who feel that their lives have meaning feel less depressed and even have better outcomes in psychotherapy. Feeling that one’s life has meaning can also ease the psychological burden of medical illnesses. For example, people who have medical conditions such as a spinal cord injury cope better when they feel that their lives have meaning, and having a sense of meaning can improve the quality of life in cancer patients. What to do when your sense of meaning slips away Anything that makes you feel less safe—the death of a loved one, an illness, sudden financial burdens—can create a kind of anxiety that obscures all meaning. That’s when you may start to ask, “Why am I working so hard?” or “Why do I actually care about anything?” You may start to search for meaning frantically.  While meaning is the “primary motivational force in man,” searching for meaning does not guarantee that you will find it. When you feel psychologically adrift and disconnected from meaning, how can you increase the chances that you will find it? You might be surprised to learn that reconnecting with meaning may not involve a set of techniques, but a set of spontaneous actions removed from the humdrum of life’s everyday routines. As helpful as “psychological techniques” such as refr...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Behavioral Health Mental Health Stress Source Type: blogs