Counselling Blog September 13, 2022 Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. — VIKTOR FRANKL, MD, PHD This is the quote that set me on my path to becoming a counsellor. Viktor Frankl’s therapeutic approach to surviving and thriving despite suffering adversity, is called logotherapy. Logotherapy focuses on our ability to endure hardship and suffering through a search for purpose. I highly recommend anyone wondering why they are suffering read Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning.” Why am I suffering with MS? Cancer? Parkinson’s? Heartbreak? The death of a loved one? Why am I suffering like this? Our desire to find meaning in life and the meaning behind our suffering, motivates us to live. I think of it in terms of a treasure hunt. If I can find the answer to “Why am I here?” then that will lead to the answer of “Why am I suffering with...?” Frankl believed that we are forced to change ourselves when we can’t change the situations we are in. I can’t change the fact that I have MS, but I can (and have) change(d) my mind about my situation. It took many years, but the answer for my search into why I’m here was revealed as, “to help people.” I think the answer to why I have MS will be the one I find next.