Meaning & Purpose

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how -Nietzsche.

I remember a client once saying to me – “meaning and purpose” you must be joking – I can barely think about getting through the day without getting raged at.  And I fully understood where she was coming from, but it is actually an essential element of long-term healing from the invalidation of narcissistic relationships. 

What is your “why?” What makes you look forward to the day? What do you see in your future? What matters to you? We will grapple with that this month.

One of the challenges is that everyone is talking about it – it’s a hot topic these days, but there can be some stumbling blocks to meaning and purpose for folks who have experienced, and especially those who continue to experience narcissistic relationships. This is about feeling as though you do have choices even when they are embedded in difficult contexts. And above all else that your life matters. These are heavy issues, and that sense that you matter, you are of value, you do have the capacity to choose often get lost for people who have been through narcissistic relationships.

Without making it seem like a boring class – we will quickly review where the entire idea of existentialism that has given rise to the focus on meaning and purpose comes from – and why it matters now more than ever. Life is tough, and with the messed-up stuff going on around us in the world at large and which often parallels what is happening in your relationships, this focus on meaning and purpose is a centerpiece of a long-term approach to healing.