scholarly journals Quality of Life Philosophy I. Quality of Life, Happiness, and Meaning in Life

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1164-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Joav Merrick
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
Life Philosophy ◽  
Personal Philosophy ◽  
Real Self ◽  
Philosophical Questions

In the Danish Quality of Life Survey, we asked 10,000 people about their quality of life with the validated SEQOL questionnaire with more than 300 questions on their quality of life. How did they feel? How content were they with their lives? How happy were they? Did they feel their needs were fulfilled? And many more questions. We asked the questions we believed to be important for their quality of life (QOL). The results were quite surprising and forced us to recontemplate the following philosophical questions: What is quality of life, happiness, and meaning in life? What is a human being? Do we need a new biology? Is the brain the seat of consciousness? How do we seize the meaning of life and by doing so, will we become well again? What are the key concepts of quality of life? The meaning of life is connectedness and development. It is about realizing every opportunity and potential in one’s existence. The opportunities must be found and acknowledged. What do you find when you find yourself deep down? You find your real self and your purpose in life. You realize that you are already a part of a larger totality. Antonovsky called it “coherence”. Maslow called it “transcendence”. Frankl called it “meaning of life”. We call it simply “being”.To test if these philosophical questions are actually relevant for medicine, we looked at the consequences for patients being taught the quality of life philosophy. Quite surprisingly we learned from our pilot studies with “quality of life as medicine” that just by assimilating the basic concepts of the quality of life philosophy presented in this series of papers, patients felt better and saw their lives as more meaningful. The improvement of the patient’s personal philosophy of life seems to be the essence of holistic medicine, helping the patient to assume more responsibility for his or her own existence.

scholarly journals Quality of Life Philosophy V. Seizing the Meaning of Life and Becoming Well Again

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1210-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Joav Merrick
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
Life Philosophy ◽  
The One ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Taking Responsibility

This paper presents a positive philosophy of life developed to support and inspire patients to take more responsibility for their own lives and to draw more efficiently on their known or hidden resources. The idea is that everybody can become wiser, use themselves better, and thus improve quality of life, subjective health, and the ability to function.To be responsible means to see yourself as the cause of your own existence and state of being. To be the one who forms your own life to your liking, so that others do not shape it in the way they prefer to see you. Seen this way, taking responsibility in practice is one of the most difficult things to do. One of the greatest and most difficult things to do in this context is to be able to love. To be the one who loves, instead of being the one who demands love, care, awareness, respect, and acceptance from somebody else.Since almost all of us have had parents who maybe loved us too little and mostly conditionally, we all harbor a deep yearning to be loved as we are, unconditionally. A lot of our energy is spent trying to find recognition and acceptance, more or less as we did as children from our parents, who created the framework and defined the rules of the game. But today, reality is different. We have grown up and now life is about shaping our own existence. So we must be the ones who love. This is what responsibility is all about. Taking responsibility is, quite literally, moving the barriers in our lives inside ourselves. Taking responsibility for life means that you are willing to see that the real barriers are not all these external ones, but something that can be found within yourself. Of course there is an outside world that cannot be easily shaped according to your dreams. But a responsible point of view is that although it is difficult, the problem is not impossible; it is your real challenge and task. If there is something you really want, you can achieve it, but whether it happens depends on your wholehearted, goal-oriented, and continuous attempts. This paper describes the philosophy about seizing the meaning of life and becoming well again, even when there is little time left.

scholarly journals Quality of Life as Medicine III. A Qualitative Analysis of the Effect of a Five-Day Intervention with Existential Holistic Group Therapy or a Quality of Life Course as a Modern Rite of Passage

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 124-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Birgitte Clausen ◽  
Maja Langhorn ◽  
Maximilian Kromann ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Group Therapy ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
Present Design ◽  
Life Philosophy

Existential group therapy seems to be a very efficient way of inducing the holistic state of healing, described in the holistic process theory of healing. We have designed a series of four quality of life (QOL) and health courses of 5-days duration called “Philosophy of Life that Heals – Courses in QOL and Personal Development”. The four courses are meant to be taken over four consecutive years. They contain training in philosophy of life and existential theory as well as exercises in holding: awareness, respect, care, acknowledgment, and acceptance. The courses teach the participants respect, love, and intimacy; help them to draw on their seemingly unlimited hidden resources; and inspire them to take more responsibility for their own life. Exercises are accomplished with a partner chosen at the course as: (1) a person you like, (2) a person you do not know already, or (3) a person to whom you want to give help, support, and holding more than you want to get help from him or her. Pilot studies with 5-day quality of life interventions that combine training in quality of life philosophy with psychotherapy and bodywork have proved effective on patients with chronic pain and alcoholism. The present design aims to take this a step further and engage the patients in a process of personal growth that will last for years. The aim is to lead them to a stabile state of quality of life, health, and ability, from where they will not again fall into sickness and unhappiness. The focus of these courses is as much on prevention as is it on healing. The existential group therapy induces spontaneous healing of body, mind, and soul that seems to be highly efficient with hopefully lasting results. Every course is intended to give an immediate improvement in the quality of life, so its efficiency can be measured with the square curve paradigm. We have studied the participant’s accounts from their experience with the courses and have analyzed the remarkably large, qualitative changes in the state of being, quality of life, health, and consciousness, which many participants experience during the course. The long-term and preventative effects of the courses have yet to be documented.

scholarly journals Measurement of Quality of Life II. From the Philosophy of Life to Science

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 962-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soren Ventegodt ◽  
Joav Merrick ◽  
Niels Jorgen Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
Quality Of Life Research ◽  
Global Quality ◽  
Global Quality Of Life ◽  
Sick Patient ◽  
Life Philosophy

We believe it should be possible to make operational the philosophical ideas of the good life in order to make it the object of scientific research. The Quality of Life Research Center in Copenhagen, Denmark has therefore spent the last several years with these questions and tried to find practical and evidence-based scientific solutions.This paper describes the theoretical road taken in moving from the abstract philosophy of life to the actual questionnaire. It presents an important aspect of our work with the quality-of-life (QOL) concept though the last decade. We have developed the quality-of-life philosophy; the SEQOL, QOL5, and QOL1 questionnaires; the quality-of-life theory; and the quality-of-life research methodology. We carried out quality-of-life population surveys and developed techniques for improving quality of life with the chronically sick patient. This paper presents the struggle to create a rating scale for the generic measurement of the global quality of life, based on quality-of-life theory, derived from quality-of-life philosophy. The developed rating scale is a ratio scale combining a Likert scale, a visual analogue scale, and a numerical scale, to a reduced combination scale. This allows for the extraction of as much information from the respondents as possible without exhausting them unduly or demanding more than can be reasonably expected.

scholarly journals Quality of Life Philosophy II: What is a Human Being?

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1176-1185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Maximilian Kromann ◽  
Joav Merrick
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Life Philosophy ◽  
The Many ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
Complex Matter ◽  
Insight Into

The human being is a complex matter and many believe that just trying to understand life and what it means to be human is a futile undertaking. We believe that we have to try to understand life and get a grip on the many faces of life, because it can be of great value to us to learn to recognize the fundamental principles of how life is lived to the fullest. Learning to recognize the good and evil forces of life helps us to make use of the good ones.To be human is to balance between hundreds of extremes. Sometimes we have to avoid these extremes, but at other times it seems we should pursue them, to better understand life. With our roots in medicine, we believe in the importance of love for better health. The secret of the heart is when reason and feelings meet and we become whole. Where reason is balanced perfectly by feelings and where mind and body come together in perfect unity, a whole new quality emerges, a quality that is neither feeling nor reason, but something deeper and more complete.In this paper, we outline only enough biology to clarify what the fundamental inner conflicts are about. The insight into these conflicts gives us the key to a great deal of the problems of life. To imagine pleasures greater than sensual pleasures seems impossible to most people. What could such a joy possibly be? But somewhere deep in life exists the finest sweetness, the greatest quality in life, the pure joy of being alive that emerges when we are fully present and life is in balance. This deep joy of life is what we call experiencing the meaning of life.

The Effect of Social Support and Meaning of Life on the Quality-of-Life Care for Terminally Ill Patients

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 767-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Dobríková ◽  
Dušana Pčolková ◽  
Layla Khalil AlTurabi ◽  
Daniel J. West
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Terminally Ill ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Terminally Ill Patients

Dialogue

2020 ◽  
pp. 162-177
Author(s):  
Peter J. Adams
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Death Awareness

This chapter brings together the four enabling frames and reviews their relative strengths in the light of points of conflict and agreement. Points of conflict include whether life continues after death, whether death is intrinsic to the structures of life, and whether my-death represents something beyond itself. Points of agreement include improvements in the ability to think and speak about my-death, improvements in quality of life, and the positive contribution of markers of finitude to my-death awareness. This chapter’s discussion also highlights how engagement with my-death can enhance a sense of vibrancy and meaning in life.

scholarly journals Quality of Life Philosophy IV. The Brain and Consciousness

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1199-1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren Ventegodt ◽  
Niels Jørgen Andersen ◽  
Joav Merrick
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Real Problem ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Garden Of Eden ◽  
The World ◽  
Life Philosophy ◽  
The Brain

In this article we look at the brain’s structure and function from a philosophical perspective. Although the brain at micro-level, with its trillions of ultra-thin nerve fibers, is one of the most complicated structures in the known universe, you can still grasp its composition if you go up to the level of the cell. How this structure functions is not quite clear. You can understand its function at fiber level, because it is fairly simple, and you can understand it at cell level, but it is already vague. Roughly speaking, you can envision a single nerve cell as a tiny, independent computer whose behavior is dependent on continuous calculations of all input. At organ level, the function can be understood as an extremely complex pattern machine. Finally, the brain’s function can be understood at the cognitive level as what provides consciousness through its ability to keep order in our complicated reality. The superior function of the brain is to connect the real us, our higher self, to the surrounding world.The brain has been developed so that it can create all possible complex patterns. The connectivity seems to imply that the patterns of the human brain are 1000-dimensional. It is our vision that these complicated patterns arise from basic patterns in the quantum matter of which everything is created. In our opinion, our consciousness’ special utilization of a patterned aspect of nature is what lies behind inscrutable statements like “Man is created in God’s image”. We suggest that these patterns in matter are the basic, creative force that influences all living organisms. Unfortunately, science has only just begun to understand these patterns.The Bible’s description of the origin of man is two people eating from the Tree of Knowledge and as punishment they are expelled from the Garden of Eden. What does that mean? It means that, as conscious creatures, we no longer were an unproblematic, harmonious part of the world around us. The great question is why this consciousness about the world, provided by the brain, is not a gift that makes life better instead of getting us expelled from the Garden of Eden. We think that our real problem is the fact that we are still not in control of our consciousness. Instead of it serving us, we have become its slaves. If we come to understand brain and consciousness in order to solve this basic problem of our existence, we shall again be able to become a coherent part of the world, both as individuals and as a species. We share the vision that such an understanding of the problems of consciousness will make medical science holistic and will bring quality of life, health, and the ability to function to its patients.

scholarly journals Mindfulness in informal caregivers of palliative patients

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Kögler ◽  
Monika Brandstätter ◽  
Gian Domenico Borasio ◽  
Veronika Fensterer ◽  
Helmut Küchenhoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Informal Caregivers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Brief Symptom Inventory ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽  
Psychological Well Being

AbstractObjectives:Mindfulness is a concept of growing impact on psychotherapy and has been shown to be effective for stress reduction and to improve psychological well-being. Existential Behavioural Therapy (EBT) was developed to support relatives of palliative care (PC) patients to cope with their situation during caregiving and bereavement. Mindfulness training was a core element of the intervention.We investigated the relationship between mindfulness, mental distress, and psychological well-being in informal caregivers, and evaluated if the effects of the intervention were mediated by mindfulness.Methods:Relatives of PC inpatients took part in a randomized-controlled EBT trial and completed the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised, items from the Five Facets of Mindfulness as well as the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the WHOQOL-BREF, a numerical rating scale on quality of life (range 0–10), and the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation at pre- and post-intervention, and a 3- and 12-months follow-up.Results:One-hundred-and-thirty carers were included, most of them (71.6%) recently being bereaved at the beginning of the intervention. High correlations between mindfulness and mental distress (r = −0.51, p < 0.001) as well as life satisfaction (r = 0.52, p < 0.001) were found. Mindfulness was a significant predictor of improvement in psychological distress, meaning in life and quality of life three months after the intervention. The EBT effects were partly mediated by mindfulness.Significance of results:Mindfulness seems to be a promising concept in supporting informal caregivers of PC patients. Further research is needed to identify the required format and intensity of mindfulness practice necessary for improvement.

scholarly journals Awareness of Meaning in Life is Protective Against Burnout Among Family Physicians: A CERA Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Hooker ◽  
Robert E. Post ◽  
Michelle D. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Family Medicine ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Residency Program Directors

Background and Objectives: Burnout is considered a public health crisis among physicians and is related to poor quality of life, increased medical errors, and lower patient satisfaction. A recent literature review and conceptual model suggest that awareness of life meaning, or meaning salience, is related to improved stress and coping, and may also reduce experience of burnout. This study examined associations among meaning salience, burnout, fatigue, and quality of life among family medicine residency program directors. Methods: Data were collected via an online survey administered by the Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA; n=268, response rate of 45.4%) in December 2018. Program directors completed measures of meaning salience, burnout, fatigue, and quality of life. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlations and path analysis. Results: Program directors who reported greater experienced meaning salience also reported significantly less burnout (β=-.40, P&lt;.001) and less fatigue (β=-.38, P&lt;.001), which were then both significantly associated with greater quality of life (Ps&lt;.001). Program directors who reported greater meaning salience also reported greater quality of life (β=.21, P&lt;.001). Additionally, there were significant indirect associations between meaning salience and quality of life through less burnout and fatigue (β=.26, P&lt;.001). Conclusions: The potential for increasing physicians’ awareness of their sense of meaning as a means to prevent or decrease burnout is underresearched and warrants further study. Both preventive measures (eg, wellness curricula) and interventions with already-distressed physicians may encourage regular reflection on meaning in life, especially during busy workdays.

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