3 classic psychology books for our turbulent times

Time and again we have turned to the written word as a way to make sense of our complex lives and the chaos of the world. At any time in modern history, there has been chaos, wars, violence, disasters, and all kinds of uncertainty. Writers have provided comfort through their works by humanizing and creating narratives about the difficult and frightening aspects of our lives. In the world of psychology, there have been timeless contributors to this ongoing dialogue about the challenges the world faces. Here, I will highlight three classic written works in psychology that still hold up today, and which aptly comment on living in a time of chaos, like the one we currently live in.

Man’s search for meaning By Viktor Frankl (1959)

Frankl, a clinical psychologist and Holocaust survivor, may have written the authoritative text about finding meaning in the midst of unimaginable suffering. Drawing from his own experience of life in a Nazi death camp, Frankl poetically and viscerally describes the ways in which he managed to survive, both physically and emotionally. He writes about humans’ innate and profound ability to find resilience even in the darkest of circumstances.

I consider myself a humanistic and existential psychotherapist, and Frankl’s work, for me, is the gold standard for dealing adaptively with the parts of our lives that seem so heavy that they might break us down. Frankl talks about the human spirit and its ability to rise above almost any situation, no matter how difficult. And in his words, we can find a stark and hopeful reminder that while we cannot avoid pain and suffering, we can find ways to live in spite of them. Frankl’s words hold special meaning as many of us find ourselves overwhelmed by external chaos, affected by horrific events and the never-ending flow of information, and exhausted by the weight of it all. But Frankl offers a profound perspective: “We should never forget that we may also find meaning in life even when faced with a hopeless situation, when faced with an irreversible fate. What matters then is that we bear witness to the unique human potential at its best, which is to turn personal tragedy into triumph, to turn one’s predicament into human achievement.”

Man’s search for himself By Rollo May (1953)

Rollo May, widely considered one of America’s leading existential psychologists, wrote this book as the Cold War was escalating and people were living in increasing circumstances. He is afraid Of nuclear annihilation. On the cover of the 1967 edition of the book are the following words: “How can we find a center of strength within ourselves to confront and overcome the insecurities of this turbulent age.” This blurb could just as easily appear in a book written in the year 2025 – although the specific events clearly change, the human desire to make sense of it all and find strength amidst the chaos remains, despite the year or historical events.

One of the most poignant passages in May’s book is his description of a young girl returning home after hearing a lecture about the atomic bomb at school. The girl asks her father: “Mom, can’t we move to a place where there is no sky?” “This child’s terrifying but revealing question…symbolizes how to do this,” May continues anxiety It makes us withdraw from nature. Modern man, so afraid of the bombs he has built, must tremble at the sky and hide in caves – he must tremble at the sky, which is a classical symbol of vastness, Imaginationreleases.” During any chaotic time, we face an important choice between running away, hiding, and avoiding, or finding a way to live fully within the storm. Although the analogy is obviously based on historical events of the time, May’s tale is relevant to the current experience of many people and their search for strength during a perilous time period.

Social interest By Alfred Adler (1938)

Adler, an Austrian psychotherapist, focused much of his work on the importance of community and the dangers of isolation. This is especially relevant today, when we continue to witness division, division, and deep and sometimes violent fissures between those with different beliefs and principles. Adler encouraged working and living for the “social good,” or in simpler terms, toward a greater common good. This is certainly a relevant message almost 100 years after the book’s publication.

Adler also wrote about how “personal superiority…always stands in opposition to cooperation.” In a society where we seem to be moving further and further away from each other and where personal conditions have taken on great importance, Adler encourages us to move toward each other and warns us that isolation will only make our human struggle to find purpose and meaning more difficult. in social interest, Adler emphasizes the importance of “our attitude toward our fellow human beings.”

These classic works by Frankl, May, and Adler apply to our current times and to the challenges we face as a society and as human beings. Through these texts we may find new ways of seeing the uncertainty of life and different perspectives on how to deal with the chaos of the world at any given time. The appropriate conclusion to this post comes from the last page of Man’s search for meaning: “Because the world is in bad shape, but everything will get worse unless each of us does our best.”