Dr. Frankl s The Existential Crisis - 2305 Words

Dr. Viktor Frankl experienced an extreme traumatic event that most of us cannot even dream of happening. Dr. Frankl was a victim of the Nazi Concentration Camps for years and was continuously tortured mentally, physically, and emotionally. From having little to no food to having barely any clothes to wear during the wintertime, Dr. Frankl survived what the world witness as the most horrific genocide it had and has ever seen. One can understand how it would be so easy for someone to lose sight of what the meaning of life is to them and to give up on it completely. When surrounded by constant death and suffering, what meaning is left when a person is condemned to death? When discussing existentialism, there are a few different ways that the term can be defined. Frankl believed that existentialism could be defined as existence itself, as what existence means, and it can also be defined as struggling to find meaning in one’s personal existance (Frankl, 1959). An existential crisi s occurs when someone questions the meaning of his or her life. No matter where a person is in life, there is always a chance of experiencing an existential crisis, or crisis or meaning, when an individual is faced with the concept of death (Robbins, Chatterjee, Canda, 2012). Another way that a person can experience existential crises is when they are challenged to establish a sense of self and what they believe the meaning of their life is (Robbins, Chatterjee, Canda, 2012). In his book Man’s