Mental Illness as a Crisis of Meaning in Modern Society
Modern society has seen a massive spike in mental illness. Why could this be? We will be exploring the characteristics of modernity and associate it with the rise of mental illness through a lack of meaning in life. Modernity is associated by scientific and technological advancement, individualism and hedonism. The empowerment of the individual self is one of the most ramifying features of modernity.
In The Myth of Mental Illness, Thomas Szasz suggests that many people who suffer from mental illness is due to the consequence of the attempt to confront and to tackle the problem of how to live. Modern man feels the weight of his freedom and responsibility to live his life, as Sartre asserts, we are “condemned to be free”. Kierkegaard says that one can get lost in the finite (becoming lost in the crowd) or in the infinite (a state of analysis-paralysis). Camus’s absurd person is one who has seen through the ridiculous repetitions of daily life (Sisyphean condemnation). When we do not have a “why” to satisfy our existence, we must search for alternatives or risk falling into an existential crisis.
Nietzsche’s proclamation of the death of God engenders the most profound cultural, sociological and psychological repercussions, leaving many facing a crisis in discerning a meaning or purpose for their existence, leading to a sense of disorientation. Viktor Frankl tells us that we are living in an existential vacuum, the mass neurosis of modern times is the “unheard cry for meaning”.
Modern man is in desperate need for the hero journey, described by Joseph Henderson. Carl Jung analyses the question: “What actually takes place inside the mentally ill?” Sebastian Junger tells us of he importance of a tribe which modern man lacks, and finally, Carl Jung describes the psychic dissociation in modern man.
-
0:50
Eternalised
7 months ago $0.09 earnedActive Imagination: The Wisdom of the Unconscious
792 -
34:46
Man in America
10 hours agoSHOCKING Proof: Grocery Prices Tripled in Just Two Years!!! w/ Dr. Kirk Elliott
24.4K15 -
6:52
Chrissy Clark
1 day agoTikToker Melts Down Over Supreme Court Ruling
23.6K21 -
1:29:44
Kim Iversen
6 hours agoSCOTUS Backs Corporate Censorship Powers. RFK Jr Hit Piece Hits New Low
48.8K50 -
1:30:00
Deprogrammed with Keri Smith
14 hours agoAmerica! F@%&! Yeah! - America vs Commies in Film - LIVE Popped Culture
25.2K -
20:37
ROSE UNPLUGGED
12 hours ago4th of July Message and Kelsey Grammer Interview
31K2 -
50:06
The Charlie Kirk Show
5 hours agoThe Secret History of Communist Revolutions ft. Jack Posobiec and Joshua Lisec
62.7K15 -
1:49:48
Glenn Greenwald
7 hours agoPresidential Immunity's Long History; Hysteria Radically Distorts SCOTUS Ruling; Dem Oligarchs Forcing Biden Out of 2024 Race | SYSTEM UPDATE #292
85.6K87 -
57:12
Havoc
7 hours agoCelebrating Independent Artists | Stuck Off the Realness Ep. 3
42.1K2 -
1:14:02
Donald Trump Jr.
14 hours agoMedia Plays Dumb on Biden Decline, Interview with Alex Marlow! | TRIGGERED Ep.151
101K111