Finding meaning

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By finding meaning or of meaning cognitive-evaluative processes are referred to, with which a person trying to make a sustained loss of meaning to overcome. The reason for a loss of meaning is usually a critical life event or a stroke of fate that severely affects a person's current sources of meaning or hinders their life plan. Finding meaning is closely linked to efforts to cope with the event (coping). Finding meaning includes, among other things, reinterpretations, comparison processes, acceptance of unchangeable situations and modification of goals. Meaning means the meaning (where from) of an event, the goal (where to, cf.Teleology ) of an action and the how of an activity. Older people have the need to look back on life , which also includes processes of finding meaning. Meaning-oriented interventions have been developed, for example for patients with cancer.

Definition of "sense"

"Meaning" is actions, projects and activities, events, issues and standards attributed . The attribution of meaning is a cognitive- evaluating function that is linked to emotional experience as well as behavior and action ( Tausch 2008). The life of meaning and the ascription of meaning have a threefold temporal relationship:

  1. Past, where from or why. A person evaluates and experiences the "sense" of an action or an event based on their information and ideas about what led to them ( effective cause ). For example: a person fell because he wanted to help another person, because he stepped on a defective step, or because he did not notice a step. It is about the attribution of causes as well as responsibility. The extent to which a person can accept or cope with a critical event often depends on their answer to the question from where.
  2. Future, where to or what for. The meaning or purpose of an action is shown in the imagination of the state that is to be achieved with that action, e.g. B. in the case of vocational training in the idea of ​​the corresponding occupation. Actions that are likely to lead to the achievement of a positive state or to avoid a negative state are experienced as meaningful. Actions that lead to a positive goal, but are themselves experienced as less than satisfactory, have an extrinsic sense. B. Parts of professional work (functional aspect of meaning). Sense relates to the determination of the goal and the ways of achieving the goal ( purpose cause ). - An event that has occurred is subsequently assessed as meaningful by a person, he finds its meaning when he subsequently reaches a positive state for him, to which he would not have reached without this event.
  3. Present, the how. Actions and activities are immediately experienced as meaningful if their execution represents an inherently positive emotional state for the person ( intrinsic sense); they fulfill a meaning of life, e.g. B. Parts of professional work, doing sports, attending a theater performance. Furthermore, a person experiences an action as meaningful if it corresponds to their own values .

A distinction must be made between “cosmic” and “earthly” meaning. Cosmic sense answers the question about the meaning of life in general, for which there are philosophical, ethical and theological-religious answers. In contrast, earthly meaning or meaning in life relates to the question: “What is the meaning of my life?” Your own life fulfills a purpose, it serves overarching goals to which you have dedicated yourself. - In order to be able to realize goals and ideas of a meaningful life, a person needs personal, social and material resources.

Meaningfulness

The "will to meaning"

Viktor E. Frankl (1977) postulated the “will to meaning” in every person as an essential and independent motivation for the individual pursuit of life. Meaning is what a person perceives in the given situation under the guidance of conscience as a self- transcendent task for a goal worth striving for. Humans find meaning in three ways: (a) doing or creating something (ability to work, creative values); (b) experience something, love someone (ability to enjoy, experience values); (c) encounter a “hopeless situation” with the “right attitude and attitude” (ability to suffer, attitude values). Only posture and attitude allow a person to “transform suffering on the human level into an achievement and to give evidence of it” - Frankl founded the psychotherapeutic process of logotherapy . Every problem is dealt with from the perspective of the meaningful issue.

Psychology of the meaning of life

People rate their own life as more or less meaningful (personal sense of life; Schnell 2016). The meaning of life is expressed in “personally relevant convictions , meaningful actions and extraordinary experiences ”. The sources of meaning are conceived as "life meanings". "Fulfilling meaning" is the fundamental experience of meaningfulness. “Crisis of meaning” is defined as a void of meaning and a simultaneous longing for meaning. Schnell & Becker's “Life Questionnaire” (2007) records the fulfillment of meaning, the crisis of meaning and 26 meanings of life. Example items for “meaningfulness”: “I experience myself as part of a greater whole.” “The different things that I do in my life complement each other in a meaningful way.” Example items for “Meaningfulness”: “I suffer from being myself can see no meaning in my life. "The" meanings of life "are summarized in five" meaning dimensions "(Schnell 2016):

  1. vertical self transcendence : explicit religiosity; Spirituality;
  2. horizontal self-transcendence: social engagement; Closeness to nature; Self-knowledge; Health; Generativity;
  3. Self-Realization: Challenge; Individualism; Power; Development; Power; Freedom; Knowledge; Creativity;
  4. Order: tradition; Down-to-earth attitude; Moral; Reason;
  5. We and well-being: community; Fun; Love; Wellness; Care; Conscious experience; Harmony.

All 26 “meanings of life” correlate positively with “meaningfulness”. The influence of meaningful fulfillment on health characteristics has been proven many times. “The more meaningfulness a person experiences, the healthier he is - both mentally and physically”. Furthermore, the meaning of life correlates positively with well-being and life satisfaction as well as negatively with characteristics of psychological stress and psychopathology (Steger 2012).

Existential concept of meaning

Irvin D. Yalom (2010) deals with four “last things” that concern everyone: death, freedom (and responsibility), isolation, futility. The following “dilemma” is fundamental to the question of meaning: “Man seems to need meaning. To live without meaning, without goals, values ​​or ideals, seems to cause a lot of grief. ”In contrast, Yalom sees the world as contingent -“ that means everything that is could have been different. [...] How does a being who needs meaning find meaning in a universe that has no meaning? ”A person experiences meaning when he engages in purposeful,“ self-sufficient activities ”. Yalom describes the following sources of meaning: altruism, devotion to a thing, creativity, the hedonistic solution, self-realization, self-transcendence and self-transcendent tasks in the life cycle ( generativity according to Erikson 1966).

Narrative approach, solution orientation

Sense is unconsciously or consciously constructed . Meaning is expressed in actions and stories. "Meaning arises in narrative structures that combine biographical events into stories that - at least if they end positively - are experienced as meaningful" (Brandtstädter 2015). Families with a disabled child express their finding of meaning in two types of " resilience stories": "Stories of the regained balance" and "Stories of the long, arduous climb" (Retzlaff 2010). In the solution-oriented counseling and therapy it comes to dealing with problems in everyday life ( de Shazer , 1996). When a person - spontaneously or professionally supported - reaches a solution to their problem, then they come to their own finding of meaning. A successful solution releases meaningful activities and goals that were previously blocked by the problem (where to aspect). - Karl E. Weick describes as part of its organizational theory as perceptions only by "mind generation" ( sensemaking be relevant) for actions and decisions, both in everyday situations such as critical events.

Loss of meaning, meaning model by C. Park

A loss of meaning is usually preceded by a critical life event, e.g. B. serious illness, unemployment, separation / divorce. As such, critical events have no positive meaning. An event destroys meaning for a person if it causes a loss of a resource , if sources of meaning are restricted or made impossible. Possible causes of loss of meaning are: failure to understand external processes; Failure to understand internal processes; unattainable goals; Loss of persons or property; Disappointments; Summation of experiences of deficiency (Tausch 2008). - Loss of meaning can also occur after reaching a goal, e.g. B. if the desired career level or retirement has been reached and follow-up goals are missing (Brandtstädter 2007).

According to the stress model of Lazarus & Folkman (1984), an affected person assesses the situation after a critical event as a challenge, threat or loss / damage (primary appraisal). Furthermore, she assesses which personal and social resources are available to her (secondary appraisal) and then acts in a problem-oriented and / or emotion-oriented manner ( coping ); it then carries out a reappraisal. Building on this, Park (2010) and Park & ​​Folkman (1997) developed the meaning making model. A distinction is made between “global meaning” and “situational meaning”. A critical life event often leads to a discrepancy between global and situational meaning, which the person concerned experiences as stressful. The person tries to reduce this discrepancy through meaning making processes, primarily on the situational, but also on the global level. If it gains changed or new meanings made, then together with the coping efforts it achieves an improved adaptation.

Global meaningful contents represent orientation systems of a person; they contain “global beliefs” and “global goals”. The former relate to the orderliness of the world, e.g. B. on justice , controllability, predictability, coherence and their self-image. The latter mean ideas of desired events and states, e.g. B. in terms of relationships, work and performance. The meanings made relate to the where from and where to aspects and include a .:

  • Acceptance of the event;
  • Re-attribution (causal attribution) and causal understanding;
  • perceived growth or positive life changes;
  • Reassessment of the stressor;
  • changed global beliefs;
  • changed global goals (Park 2010).

Meaning is defined here in a non-judgmental way. Meaning can also be a negative global conviction, e.g. B. when a disappointment cannot be accepted and leads to bitterness .

According to the empirical findings, most people who were affected by severe stressful events report efforts to give meaning. Assessment of the situation that one was exposed to direct assault, threat or loss cause severe stress. Efforts for meaning and results that contain accusations and negative evaluations usually lead to poorer adaptation, and efforts with non-judgmental consideration to better adaptation (Park 2010).

Finding meaning in individual contexts

Meaning is described “as the subjective experience of positive changes, which is the result of cognitive and emotional processing of aversive events” (Maercker & Horn 2013). An essential part of coping and finding meaning is to accept the fact of the losses that have arisen as a result of a life event. It is beneficial if various sources of meaning were available before the event (Schnell 2016). After a critical event has passed, a person has found meaning if they can tell a story about it with an outcome that has positive aspects for them. Examples: a person fails an exam; she had learned too little (where from aspect). She develops an interest in the subject (intrinsic sense). After sufficient preparation, she passes the new exam. As the sense of failure (why aspect) she finds: She has learned that you can only achieve goals if you make an effort to achieve them. A person interprets a serious illness as a "God sent test". She takes on inevitable suffering. She claims: "I have cancer, cancer doesn't have me". Or she interprets the illness as a “warning sign”, “attempted rescue” or “protest behavior” (Manteufel 2005).

Meaning-oriented coping after trauma

First of all, it is about the situational significance of the trauma suffered , later about changed or new goals. Women who have been victims of interpersonal violence in the past six months , e.g. Some of the people who had survived violence in childhood gave the following “explanations” of the violence (Lim et al. 2015): self-accusation (88% of respondents); Justification of the perpetrator (64%); cannot find an explanation, confusion, repression (60%); Insensitivity to violence (36%). These situational evaluations do not express a positive sense; they show how the victims try to orientate themselves (where from aspect). With self-accusation, the victims attribute a certain amount of control to themselves (see also Filipp & Aymanns 2010). Only a few women (8%) say that they are responsible for taking better care of their children (why aspect). By making resources accessible and empowerment measures, women would also be encouraged to find meaning. - Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develop a coherent version of their life story including the trauma events in narrative exposure therapy . You find meaning, i. H. an understanding of the where and why of their symptoms and ailments. - In young adults who had been exposed to frequent trauma in their previous history, both “search for meaning” (similar to “meaning crisis”, see above) and “present meaningful life” clearly contribute to too low “depression” (Woo et al. 2013). The search for meaning and meaningful life act as protection against depressive symptoms.

Some of those affected report “ post-traumatic growth ” (also “post-traumatic maturation”; Fooken 2013). This and the perception of the positive consequences of a critical event (benefit finding; Filipp & Aymanns 2010) are related to finding meaning (meanings made). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory questionnaire (PTGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun 1996; Maercker & Langner 2001) contains five dimensions: (1) new possibilities, (2) relationships with others, (3) appreciation of life, (4) personal strength, (5 ) Spiritual changes. The growth dimensions can be viewed as expressions of new or expanded sources of meaning. In patients who received psychotherapeutic treatment for PTSD , “Sinnerleben” contributes to “post-traumatic growth”, “life satisfaction” and “health-related quality of life” as well as lower “PTSD symptoms” and lower “depression” (Löffler et al. 2012).

Cancer disease

In cancer luxation "loss of feelings of meaningfulness, demoralization, despair and spiritual suffering" can occur. Up to 44% of patients with advanced disease experience “existential and spiritual burdens” (Mehnert et al. 2011). Many patients strive to find meaning and to “get the right attitude” towards their suffering (Frankl 1977). In a large number of studies, cancer patients with a higher degree of "sense of life" and especially of "sense of coherence " show less "mental suffering". The sense of life acts as a stress buffer ( meta-analysis Winger et al. 2016).

Various psychotherapeutic interventions aim to strengthen cancer patients in their sense of purpose, to reduce spiritual burdens and to support coping with the disease (Mehnert et al. 2011; Schnell 2016). The intervention "Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully CALM" (Nissim et al. 2011; Scheffold et al. 2015) is aimed at patients with advanced cancer disease and comprises up to six individual psychotherapeutic sessions. According to reports from participants, “CALM” offers or enables: “A safe place to come to terms with the experience of advanced cancer; permission to talk about death and dying; Help to cope with the disease and to find your way around the health system; relieving tension in relationships with family and friends; the opportunity to be perceived as a complete person in the health system ”(Nissim et al. 2011). Finding meaning is promoted here as part of coping with illness.

The dignity therapy (Schramm et al. 2014) for terminally ill patients includes a life review and emphasizes the sense aspect of generativity as well as the striving for “spiritual strengthening”. Cancer and other physically ill patients show significantly higher values ​​for “positive sense of life” and self-efficacy as well as a lower degree of psychopathological symptoms after participating in various forms of “meaning-centered therapy” compared to the participants in control groups ( meta-analysis Vos et al. 2015).

Depression, burnout

In 1992, Daniel Hell developed the concept "that depression represents a biologically anchored possibility of reaction that forces people to stop in stressful situations that cannot be managed and thus reduces the risk of a hopeless fight, aimless flight or disintegration". "The jump from a basic feeling of» sadness «to the mournful occurrence of depression makes sense if it is assumed that the affected person cannot reasonably be expected to break the bond." “However, since the depressive change is very painful, it is difficult to appreciate the purposeful element”. People with depression have usually suffered serious losses related to ties to close caregivers, global beliefs and goals in life, and are overwhelmed by them. With the situational meaning that the depression represents protection from the stressful situation that cannot be dealt with at the moment, an affected person is more likely to accept their currently severely restricted performance.

Burnout is physical, emotional and mental exhaustion due to prolonged overload or incorrect stress. “Burnout” is a risk condition for diseases, but not a disease diagnosis recognized in the ICD-10 classification system (Burisch 2014). From an “ anthropological perspective”, burnout is interpreted as a “loss of meaning in life, as a crisis in life meaning”. It is more likely to affect people whose sources of meaning consist exclusively of professional performance or success. The path to overcoming burnout leads via “new personal responsibility, self-expansion and life expansion” to new meaningful content (Brühlmann 2013).

Meaningful life of those experienced in psychosis

In the Hamburg project “Subjective Sense of Psychoses ” (SuSi-Projekt; Bock, Klapheck & Ruppelt 2014) the search for meaning “is understood not only as an effort towards causality (causes) and finality (purpose), but also as a process of appropriating experience as an individual , unmistakable peculiarity and the (re) establishment of inner cohesion ”(emphasis added). People who have gone through schizophrenic psychoses find their “meaning” (why aspect): “Meaning is vital. Psychoses destroy meaning. [...] Filling the vacuum of meaning begins with the lasting chances in life that one still finds afterwards. […] Sense is obviously important in order to get back on your feet afterwards from the psychosis ”. For victims it went in their recovery "is no longer a question that I'm normal, but I will use my resources available to me, the director for my accept existence that I on something Custom can relate" (Emphasis added.). One mania experienced says: "The manias [were] possibly the only chance for me to be able to change anything at all, although I have very much regretted the radicalism and sometimes also (verbal) brutality in retrospect" (Kolbe 2014).

Bock u. a. (2010; 2014) developed the SuSi questionnaire with five scales: (1) Development of psychosis, attribution to life events; (2) positive symptom experience; (3) negative symptom experience; (4) Positive Effects of Psychosis; (5) Negative effects of psychosis. In several studies, two thirds of the more than 500 respondents with psychosis experience affirm that the psychosis is caused by life events (where from aspect) and negative symptom experience, but also positive effects of psychosis (where to aspect); A good third say they have positive symptoms and negative effects of psychosis. These findings show the results of the processes of finding meaning in those experienced in psychosis.

Many mentally ill people achieve recovery , i. H. Recovery or recovery without full "cure". Finding meaning supports recovery (Bock et al. 2014; Amering & Schmolke 2007). For people with many years of experience in psychosis, leading their life “successfully” means “giving their psychosis a meaning” and “perceiving it as enriching”. "Successful paths lead over a more or less long period of time to inner changes," new "hope, a sovereign way of dealing with help and experiencing oneself as an" actor in one's life "" (Richterich & Boerma 2009). Your finding of meaning also includes a positive change in your self-image (global meaning).

In treatments based on the Soteria concept, “those affected often establish relationships between various life events and their experience of schizophrenic psychosis. This gives the symptoms a meaning in life history, a meaning, they become a symbol for unresolved conflicts, unacknowledged needs or for “sore points” in one's own personality ”(Hurtz, Nischk et al. 2014).

Recovered psychosis sufferers are “experts through experience” when it comes to illness and coping with illness. As “peers” they can have a helping interaction with those suffering from psychosis (peer counseling). Under the title Experienced Involvement , advanced training courses are held for those who have experienced psychosis in good health. You will find paid activities and the corresponding meaningfulness as "convalescent companions" in psychiatric facilities and / or as lecturers in the training, further education and training of psychiatric specialists. Some of them begin training in a helping profession (Utschakowski 2010).

Bereavement

The death of a person often seems pointless. The bereaved temporarily deny death and thus protect themselves from being overwhelmed. Mourners ask questions like "What was death for?" (Buijssen 1997). Finding meaning or giving meaning is part of the mourning process , for which there are cultural, religious and social offers of meaning. Relatives are more likely to accept death if they have said goodbye to their family member beforehand ( Tausch & Tausch 1985). The relationship to the deceased is transformed, what we have experienced together remains in the memory (Filipp & Aymanns 2010). A widower was persistently in deep grief and "deeply depressed". He then found the meaning of his wife's death and survival in saving her widowhood and living alone. This did not change anything about his loss, but it made sense for him to take on the suffering of the loss (suffering ability; Frankl 1977). - If no answer can be found to the question "Why did my child die of cancer?", The question of meaning may remain unanswered in the long run. “However, your own care activities and the accompaniment of the dying person can definitely be perceived as meaningful” (Tausch 2008).

If a bereaved person has mourned the loss and accepted it, then he or she can find answers to the question: "What is the meaning of life for me?" (Buijssen 1997). It has become free for new sources of meaning, for new goals, activities, tasks and bonds. She achieves a “new relationship to herself and the world”. She realizes "that the death of the mourned person not only took a lot away from her, it also brought a lot" ( Kast 2015). She can make new sensory experiences. A widow: "If my husband hadn't died, I wouldn't be who I am today" (Ware 2012).

Finding meaning in old age

When the job is finished in old age, when physical or psychological restrictions have occurred, previous sources of meaning lose their relevance. "Conservation goals are increasingly coming to the fore, which are aimed at preserving what has been achieved, preserving health and avoiding loss of function." Sources of meaning such as spirituality, generativity and care for future generations are becoming relevant (Brandtstädter 2015). In old age, many people have a need to look back on life , which often also includes the question of the "meaning" of their own life or individual episodes.

Psychological processes of finding meaning

(1) Appreciate. One can draw attention and memories to positive and enjoyable events in one's own life as well as value the meaningful incidents and sections: what one has achieved, what goals have one achieved; which critical events were successfully dealt with, where did you get help (Filipp & Aymanns 2010).

(2) Mobilize gratitude. Gratitude means paying attention to and recognizing the people who support you, the circumstances under which you were favored and the emergency in which you were perceived and offered help. By accepting help, one could overcome a difficult situation and return to one's real goals. Grateful people act as role models for others; Expressing gratitude promotes the relationship (Zygar & Angus 2016). You mobilize gratitude by asking yourself about it and focusing on positive, enriching events such as B. reminded of the past day. Brief “gratitude interventions” such as asking to keep a gratitude diary or write and deliver a gratitude letter encourage “gratitude” (Davis et al. 2016). One participant: The gratitude diary “helps me to get out of the negative and to remember that all is not lost” (Wohin aspect; Emmons & Stern 2013).

(3) Accept losses, modify goals. "In old age, due to decreasing physical and lifelong reserves, future-related objectives can get out of reach and thus fail as possible sources of meaning" (Brandtstädter 2015). It is important to say goodbye to previous wishes for life or to “false” demands on yourself and others (Filipp & Aymanns 2010). By accepting one achieves serenity . If you give up unattainable goals, you avoid frustrations. The recognition of the “power of the factual” (Gross 2013) opens the door to finding meaning; one can find and pursue modified, achievable goals that relate to the present: coping with everyday life, maintaining contacts, habits and rituals, support for children, grandchildren and relatives as well as activities for the community (Höpflinger 2002).

(4) Reinterpretation and reassessment. The reinterpretation (reframing; Watzlawik et al. 2009) of a critical event can lead to a different finding of meaning. The person can take a “galactic perspective” (Yalom 2010), view the event as an “exception”; she can react with humor. It can contrast the evaluation of one's own action from the point of view of that time with its point of view today. When a person copes with a critical event and has reached a positive state, he ascribes a new meaning to the event, e.g. B. if she found a more suitable job after losing her job. - Those affected by a serious illness or an accident often ask the question: "Why me?" (Filipp & Aymanns 2010). The writer Hermann Kinder (2014) reinterprets his own protracted illness: “Why me of all people is a wrongly asked question; more correct: why not me? Whoever dies has not failed ”. - Wisdom therapy for bitterness disorder aims to reassess, e.g. B. with regard to the intention of a person from whom one has suffered an injustice (Schippan et al. 2004).

(5) Comparative and hypothetical thinking. In order to evaluate and find the meaning of an event and its consequences, people use a variety of comparisons. In upward comparisons one refers to people who are better off than oneself, in downward comparisons to those who are worse off: "Others have been hit much worse." When comparing downwards over time, a person finds that they are doing better now than they were in the time after the critical event. Downward comparisons make your own situation appear more positive and meaningful; they are preferred to upward comparisons (Filipp & Aymanns 2010). - So-called. Counterfactual thinking contrasts reality with a "hypothetical universe" and facilitates the construction of meaning and meaning. Young adults were asked to counterfactually reflect on a turning point in their life: they should "mentally subtract the turning point event from their own life" and describe what their life would be like today if the event had never happened. The counterfactual reflection led to the assessment of higher “significance” and “meaningfulness” of one's actual own life (Kray et al. 2010).

(6) Process unfinished business, award. Looking back on life, one recognizes unresolved conflicts, suffered injuries as well as disputes in partnership or family that have not yet been overcome. Often such problem situations are based on divergent assignments of meaning or meaning. One can try to get into a conversation with the people involved and to acknowledge the difference in evaluations (agree to disagree). One can ask for forgiveness and seek reparation for one's own culpable behavior . If you were in the victim position, you can forgive the perpetrator. Anyone who forgives an injustice suffered acts like a creditor who remits the debt of an insolvent debtor (Müller-Lissner 2011). Forgiveness can help overcome conflict. Forgiveness enables reconciliation and thus the resumption of the relationship. Both are meaningful in that one becomes free to achieve worthwhile goals.

(7) Sources of meaning in the face of death. Living with dignity , especially when faced with limitations, contributes to the meaning of life (Frankl 1977). It's about maintaining dignity and being a role model. “The dying [can] decisively help his relatives to come to terms with his death [...] if he overcomes his own pain to such an extent that he gives his family the example of serene demeanor that they remember and that of dignity like them can help ”( Kübler-Ross 2001). Dying is easier for a sick person if he sees his life as fulfilled and meaningful and accepts it as it went. A dying person says to his family: “I have lived. My task is done ”(Tausch & Tausch 1984). “The dying need to know that everything has been said. That brings them peace ”(Ware 2012). The dignity therapy (Schramm et al. 2014) promotes the conversation of terminally ill people with their relatives: A 72-year-old woman with cancer: The dignity therapy "brought to the fore that I have to prepare my family with the best of my ability" (Chochinov et al. 2011). A relative: In dignity therapy, “Communicating feelings and the past is a valuable and important means of showing that life has meaning” (McClement et al. 2007).

literature

  • HCI Andriessen: Meaning. In: HPJ Buijssen & RD Hirsch (Ed.): Problems in old age. Diagnosis, advice, therapy, prevention. Beltz, Weinheim 1997, pp. 107-132.
  • T. Bock , K. Klapheck & F. Ruppelt (eds.): Search for meaning and recovery. Experiences and research on the subjective meaning of psychoses. Psychiatrie Verlag, Cologne 2014.
  • SH Filipp & P. ​​Aymanns: Critical life events and life crises. Dealing with the dark side of life. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2010.
  • VE Frankl : Suffering from meaningless life. Psychotherapy for today. Herder, Freiburg 1977.
  • HG Petzold & I. Orth (eds.): Sense, sense experience, life sense in psychology and psychotherapy. Vol. I Sense and Meaning Experience - Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Vol. II Sense, Finding Sense, Experiencing Sense - Perspectives of Psychotherapeutic Schools. Edition Sirius, Bielefeld 2005.
  • T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 2016.
  • ID Yalom : Existential Psychotherapy. 5th ed. Ed. Humanistic Psychology Verlag A. Kohlhage, Bergisch Gladbach 2010.

Wiktionary

Wiktionary: Finding meaning  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: Meaning  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c R. Exchange: meaning in our life. In: AE Auhagen (Ed.): Positive Psychology . 2nd Edition. Beltz PVU, Weinheim 2008, pp. 97-113.
  2. ↑ T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Heidelberg / Berlin 2016, p. VII.
  3. ^ SH Filipp & P. ​​Aymanns: Critical life events and life crises. Dealing with the dark side of life. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2010, p. 176 f.
  4. ^ SH Filipp & P. ​​Aymanns: Critical life events and life crises. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2010, p. 175 ff.
  5. ↑ J. Mittelstrass (Ed.): Encyclopedia Philosophy and Philosophy of Science. Volume 3. JB Metzler, Stuttgart 1995. Keyword Sinn pp. 810–812.
  6. ↑ T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Heidelberg / Berlin 2016.
  7. ^ ID Yalom: Existential Psychotherapy. 5th edition. Ed. Humanistic Psychology, Verlag A. Kohlhage, Bergisch Gladbach 2010, p. 535.
  8. ^ ID Yalom: Existential Psychotherapy. 5th edition. Ed. Humanistic Psychology, Verlag A. Kohlhage, Bergisch Gladbach 2010, p. 489 ff.
  9. ↑ See also HCI Andriessen: Meaning giving. In: HPJ Buijssen & RD Hirsch (Ed.): Problems in old age. Diagnosis, advice, therapy, prevention. Beltz, Weinheim 1997, pp. 107-132.
  10. ^ VE Frankl: Suffering from meaningless life. Psychotherapy for today. Herder, Freiburg 1977, p. 15 ff.
  11. ^ VE Frankl: Suffering from meaningless life. Psychotherapy for today. Herder, Freiburg 1977, p. 31 f., 80.
  12. ↑ T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Heidelberg Berlin 2016, p. 13.
  13. ↑ T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Heidelberg Berlin 2016, p. 7 f.
  14. ↑ T. Quickly. & P. Becker: The questionnaire on the meanings and meaning of life (LeBe). Hogrefe, Göttingen 2007.
  15. ↑ T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Heidelberg Berlin 2016, p. 18 ff
  16. ↑ T. Schnell: Psychology of the meaning of life. Springer, Heidelberg Berlin 2016, p. 114.
  17. ^ MF Steger: Experiencing meaning in life. Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology and spirituality. In: PTP Wong (Ed.): The human quest for meaning. Theories, research, and applications. 2nd Ed., Routledge, New York 2012, pp. 165-184.
  18. ^ ID Yalom: Existential Psychotherapy. 5th ed. Ed. Humanistic Psychology Verlag A. Kohlhage, Bergisch Gladbach 2010, p. 20 f.
  19. ^ ID Yalom: Existential Psychotherapy. 5th ed. Ed. Humanistic Psychology Verlag A. Kohlhage, Bergisch Gladbach 2010, p. 488 f.
  20. ^ ID Yalom: Existential Psychotherapy. 5th ed. Ed. Humanistic Psychology Verlag A. Kohlhage, Bergisch Gladbach 2010, p. 498 ff.
  21. ^ EH Erikson: Growth and crises of the healthy personality. In: id .: Identity and the life cycle. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt / M. 1966, pp. 55-122.
  22. ↑ a b c J. Brandtstädter: Sense and Finding Meaning. In: ders: Positive development. On the psychology of successful lifestyle. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 2015, pp. 139–151.
  23. ^ R. Retzlaff: Family strengths. Disability, Resilience, and Systemic Therapy. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2010, p. 150 ff.
  24. ↑ S. De Shazer: "... words were originally magic". Solution-oriented short therapy in theory and practice. Modern learning publishing house, Dortmund 1996.
  25. ↑ J. Brandtstädter: Concepts of positive development. In: ders. & U. Lindenberger (Ed.): Developmental Psychology of the Lifespan. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2007, pp. 681-723.
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