# existentialist therapy



## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

I was doing some reading on existentialism and came across this article from Psychology Today.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/201101/what-is-existential-psychotherapy

I like the fact that it focuses on the individual and faces head on the inherent struggles that everyone deals with - death, isolation, freedom, and meaningless in life. It isn't really as pessimistic as it sounds. The focus is on living on life in the present, living with integrity, finding one's own personal meaning in life, and accepting responsibility.

A wikipedia article (not the best source but I like the ideas in the article regardless)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_therapy


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## pancake111 (Sep 3, 2011)

I love existentialism. I like how it is revolved you and not other people. It may be pessimistic, but for the most part it's very true and relatable.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

I'm reading the Existentialists avidly. I like Camus best for his optimism, creativity and his blend of Kafkaesque/ Dostoyevskian logic. I'm learning something every day. the individual interests me, History does too but mostly in relation to an individual who seems to contradict it, "that man with the wheelbarrow" as Kierkegaard said, "who bustled through the streets selling vegetables while the city was under siege" lol. He was incredible, but wouldn't have made it into a a philosophy of non-contradiction. If you call everything purposeless, you can't help but give birth to something.


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## Mae West (Sep 15, 2005)

I don't think existentialism is pessimistic. There are no fairy tail endings in life. There will always be problems. But if you are able to look at your problems as opportunities you can create a better life for yourself.


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## jonny neurotic (Jan 20, 2011)

Not a fan of existentialism. I agree that existence _per se_ has no meaning but this does not bother me in the way that it seems to bother existentialists. I laugh at absurdity. This, I think, is what makes a good sand up comedian. Not the run of the mill attention seeker type that churns out derivitive rubbish but the really good stand ups that have you rolling around. The kind that make you feel like you done 1000 sit ups because you belly muscles ache so much. They are able to make the absurdity of existence something to laugh at rather than something to dread. The morbidly depressed, however, find no humour in this: rather, they find it a cause of despair. This is why religion is so popular. It gives meaning to life. Usually rather vague and tenuous meaning but it is something for the individual to feel important about. I don't care that there is no meaning to life. Being able to say that gives me such pleasure.

I regard myself as an Epicureanist. A sort of sensible headonist. I believe that we should seek pleasure in everything we do because there is no point in not doing so. That doesn't mean that we should act carelessly and poison our bodies, because in the long term this will cause us pain. Instead we should take care of our bodies and our minds and we should learn to enjoy simple things in life(such as the aromas of food, the sound of birds twittering away, the smell of the air after it has rained, you get the idea).

We need not concern ourselves with meaning. Just live. Do my pet cats care that their life has no meaning? No. They just live. They are hedonists too but give no thought for their physical health or long term wellbeing. I can be greatful that I have the capacity to consider these things. It means I can take steps to ensure future pleasure. This is the good side of self awareness, but the down side is the possibility of worrying about lifes meaning(or lack thereof). I suppose I am lucky that I can reconcile myself with(indeed laugh at) the fact that there is no meaning to it. I still have SA though so perhaps I need to tweek my philosophy somewhat. lol


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