Therapeutic Philosophy
Reflections on knowledge, culture, metaphysics, life and health
Exploring Your Philosophy for Health
Philosophical enquiries can be a powerful tool for stress reduction and improving your quality of life. By exploring fundamental questions about life, existence, and values, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you.
The more you understand life, the more resilient you become to life stressors, and the more control you can develop over your own wellbeing.
Contemplations about life at this level usually begin with some type of challenging or traumatic situation. Something which you never expected to happen, an event which has taken you by surprise, or something which has forced you to work through your emotional wounds.
When you encounter deep life challenges, it can be devastating because it can force you to look at areas of life where you have a lack of control. Perhaps you are going through a situation which involves physical or emotional trauma. Maybe you are experiencing death, bereavement, or major loss for the first time. Or perhaps you have realised that something in which you placed absolute trust does not deserve such an honour. For example, if the justice, political, or medical system have let you down, and changed your fundamental beliefs about life.
Often the deepest transformations in life require developing insights on a level which lies outside of a medicalised approach to wellness. This is a process of therapeutic wisdom which may occur either on a social level, or an existential one. Perhaps involving topics in which you had no previous interest - such as politics, cultural beliefs, ethical concerns, or inequalities in health, and how these can impact your own wellbeing,
Whilst existential-level situations can bring up a period of deep depression and personal reckoning, resolving questions about the most fundamental nature of life can be a powerful tool which helps you to move through them. For some people this process can be relatively brief, whilst for others it may last for several years.
The way through is generally the same - to come to terms with whatever situation lies at the root of the problem, and to process it until it becomes a catalyst for change and deep transformation. Only then can you successfully move through to a better level of wellbeing, with a deeper understanding, and having successfully integrated this into your life.
Developing your own wellbeing philosophy is the ultimate way of resolving the deepest of problems which impact health - like loss of health, lack of meaning, and facing any type of existential crisis. This is because to find the answers to these philosophical questions can provide you with a sense of deep inner peace and wisdom that simply does not occur in regular medical interventions.
Reflections for Developing Your Therapeutic Philosophy
- How do you live a meaningful life?
- What is the difference between good and evil?
- Should we try and prevent bad things from happening?
- Are all relationships of equal importance?
- Can free will and pre-destination both co-exist?
- Are human rights universally accepted?
- Does your worldview change how you perceive scientific evidence?
- Can life without love be possible?
- Is it ethical to punish other people for their actions?
- Do people have the right to prioritise their own opinions over others?
- Is war and violence ever justifiable?
