This is a terrifically clear rendering of the principles from Logotherapy as put forth by Viktor Frankl… I thought the principles only existed in his books, scattered here and there throughout many of his larger philosophical works. In a nutshell, the concept is that when an unwanted thought just pops into your head, it only becomes “sticky” to the extent that you try to resist it. The very act of resistance paradoxically sends a signal to your brain that you’re awfully focused on it, so it must be important, which makes it even stickier. The way to deal with it is rather to treat it as unimportant—even to focus on it deliberately, instead of trying very hard not to think about it. It’s essentially the same idea as when one is desperate to fall asleep: the very desperation makes it almost impossible to sleep, because it’s a stimulating process. Rather, the trick is to distract yourself, think about something else, or even to try to force yourself to stay up as late as you can. In so doing, you remove the anxiety, and make sleep much more likely.

My rating: *****

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