Everything is going well in life when suddenly you take a wrong turn and life turns upside down. How would you redefine the meaning of life?
A life-changing situation that causes physical disabilities brings significant changes in individuals’ lives and raises questions about the purpose and meaning of life. People with disabilities are confronted with various psychological and existential challenges.
Individuals with physical disabilities face a new, stressful, and threatening reality, such as loss of mobility, roles, independence, career, and social relationships. Adapting to this new reality becomes a struggle because they have to identify a new meaning and purpose in life again. However, it is a challenge when they do not even know how to start, resulting in psychological distress and other physical or mental health issues, such as depression.
Meaning in suffering
Logotherapy, introduced by Viktor Frankl, tries to understand the suffering of people and how they find meaning in their lives. It highlights the ability of individuals to move past their negative experiences and find new meaning in their present circumstances.
Individuals with physical disabilities reach a better state by minimising the values associated with the loss brought by the physical disability and rearranging or creating new values aligned with the new situation. This is called self-transcendence. It is the ability of individuals to transcend or move beyond the biological limitations of their existence and turn to other people, the environment, or a higher being to achieve their goals.
On the other hand, people who have difficulty finding meaning in their lives may experience an existential vacuum. Existential vacuum refers to the void, emptiness, or meaninglessness in the individuals’ existence. This void manifests through frustration, anxiety, or boredom, leading to maladaptive behaviours like violence, substance abuse, or aggression.
Finding meaning in life
Finding meaning in the experience of a physical disability facilitates acceptance and adaptation. The ability to create new meaning in a life-changing situation enables individuals with physical disabilities to come to terms with their situation, enhancing their adaptability.
The ability to find meaning in life plays an important role in the psychological well-being of individuals. It leads to greater life satisfaction, a clear sense of personal identity, achievement of goals, a positive view of the future, freedom to make choices, death acceptance, and happiness.
In contrast, difficulty finding meaning in life is associated with social isolation, feelings of despair, boredom, alienation from self, others, and the world, and the development of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideations.
Sources of the meaning of life
- Interpersonal relationships
- Life experiences
- Contribution to the improvement of own life, other people or the community
- Personal values
- New commitments
- Service to their life work, such as helping and educating others about physical disability
How to increase the ability to find meaning in life
- Increase awareness
- Gather information and review past events or relationships to gain different perspectives.
- Re-evaluate thoughts, feelings, perceptions, or meanings related to the physical disability.
- Interact with other people to learn new practices or experiences for additional knowledge.
- Create an emotional response to the new situation
- Evaluate the new information or meaning of the situation.
- Acknowledge the negative emotions associated with the situation.
- Attach new and positive emotions, such as gratitude and acceptance, with the current situation.
- Seek support
- Surround themselves with positive, supportive, and understanding people.
- Find new meaning
- Highlight individual psychological characteristics, such as self-control to increase control over the new challenges and self-confidence to enhance their belief for personal growth.
- Reorganise gathered information about the new condition.
- Seek new meaning about the situation.
- Set new goals to achieve in life.
- Maintain hope for the future.
If you’d like one on one mental wellness support, please reach out and we can put you in touch with the right people.
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