The premise of Freud's ideas have always disturbed me. Therapists seek to help a person in trouble by revisiting their childhood experiences as a way to investigate the roots of their current problems, and eventually parents are held responsible for the limiting beliefs that need to be changed. I grew up in a culture where parents were revered next to God since our very survival depends on their care, after God gives us life. I simply refuse to blame the parents, because without them I would not be here.

Today, I am excited to have found the ideas of Viktor Frankl of the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy, who offers an alternative. In his book, Man's Search For Meaning, he lays out how humans are not just reacting organisms but autonomous beings capable of actively shaping their lives, with the freedom that comes from being spiritual beings. We are free to shape our day-to-day lives to achieve goals and purposes that are meaningful to us as we freely choose. We are more than our body and psyche, we are spiritual beings, and we are responsible. Exciting to discover that someone else articulated what I have known by instinct. Makes me happy.