Casey Cep, a writer for The New Yorker, wrote an article entitled “The Pointlessness of Unplugging”, which suggests that unplugging from technology is pointless because it is deeply embedded in our daily lives and we can’t function without it. In the conclusion of her piece she states, “Let’s not mistake such experiments in asceticism for a sustainable way of life” (Cep). Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures (greed, ambition, pride, sex and pleasurable food), often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Why do we set spiritual goals? What are we searching for when we pursue any goal? I believe to pursue a spiritual goal means we are looking for meaning in our lives. Spiritual goals allow
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This is a big part of how addiction and depression take root and grow. People who have a spiritual or religious orientation to life, seek help when they feel their physical or emotional well-being is threatened. Our spirituality is like our moral compass. For some people, their moral compass becomes damaged or grows incorrectly and becomes something similar to a black hole which has the capacity to inevitably suck in everything in its effort to be filled. People in this condition will exhaust every dime, every relationship, every resource to find a way to fill that emptiness. Viktor Frankl describes this emptiness as an ‘existential vacuum’. Didelot writes, “a result of this existential vacuum is a disconnection from purpose and goals in life, which create meaning . . . addiction is a way of self-medicating . . . the suffering of the empty self” (27). It’s an inadequate treatment, but it is their solution – a way to escape their suffering, whether physical or emotion. Viktor Frankl created Logotherapy as a way to treat the condition. It is basically a way to empower the patient to find meaning in their suffering and move beyond it. It is called the ‘will to meaning’ and adopts a pathogenic approach for its therapeutic value. Aaron Antonovsky created a model which goes beyond the question of why do people develop illness to how do people stay
This is a big part of how addiction and depression take root and grow. People who have a spiritual or religious orientation to life, seek help when they feel their physical or emotional well-being is threatened. Our spirituality is like our moral compass. For some people, their moral compass becomes damaged or grows incorrectly and becomes something similar to a black hole which has the capacity to inevitably suck in everything in its effort to be filled. People in this condition will exhaust every dime, every relationship, every resource to find a way to fill that emptiness. Viktor Frankl describes this emptiness as an ‘existential vacuum’. Didelot writes, “a result of this existential vacuum is a disconnection from purpose and goals in life, which create meaning . . . addiction is a way of self-medicating . . . the suffering of the empty self” (27). It’s an inadequate treatment, but it is their solution – a way to escape their suffering, whether physical or emotion. Viktor Frankl created Logotherapy as a way to treat the condition. It is basically a way to empower the patient to find meaning in their suffering and move beyond it. It is called the ‘will to meaning’ and adopts a pathogenic approach for its therapeutic value. Aaron Antonovsky created a model which goes beyond the question of why do people develop illness to how do people stay