Irvin Yalom's book, Love's Executioner, is a work that focuses on the dynamics between the client and the person being consulted in therapy. There are ten different people and their stories in this work. Many studies have been conducted on Yalom's existential psychology and the meaning of life. Those that cannot be treated have been studied with their properties and especially with their cancer characteristics. His constant death and mourning have been his indispensable elements. Yalom therapy was not considered to be the focus of subconscious and repressed traumas, as Freud suggested, but instead, the insane pain of existence to which the therapy was applied was suggested.

According to Irvin Yalom, there are four true words that cannot be changed. These are the inevitability of death, our freedom to shape our lives with our own will, our ultimate loneliness, and the existence of life without any apparent length. During his therapies, Yalom's work with his patients was considered an art form. For him, they were a unique new concept that he was consulted about. In his relationships with his patients, he is both close and distant from them. For this reason, he achieved success in healing them by providing a comfortable environment of therapy without leaving the center of the ethical framework.

There are interesting stories about Love's Executioner with ten patients. It serves as a metaphor to express how psychotherapists should be with their patients in therapy, from which the first storybook comes. Psychotherapists should never form friendships or romantic relationships with their clients. However, Thelma in the first story has a passionate love for her previous therapist. Irvin Yalom decides to take on him despite knowing this from afar. One of the most striking points is that Irvin Yalom sees himself as a humanist and a therapist who expresses himself in the language of love, and for this reason, he does not like to work with those who are in love, because he, too, is under the spell of love. However, at the end of the day, Yalom never moves away from the professional approach and approaches professionalism almost like an art.

“Though these tales of psychotherapy abound with the words patient and therapist, do not be misled by such terms: these are everyman, everywoman stories. Patienthood is ubiquitous; the assumption of the label is largely arbitrary and often dependent more on cultural, educational, and economic factors than on the severity of pathology. Since therapists, no less than patients, must confront these givens of existence, the professional posture of disinterested objectivity, so necessary to the scientific method, is inappropriate. We psychotherapists simply cannot cluck with sympathy and exhort patients to struggle resolutely with their problems.  We cannot say to them you and your problems because our life, our existence, will always be riveted to death, love to loss, freedom to fear, and growth to separation. We are, all of us, in this together.”
Irvin Yalom, Love’s Executioner

Reference
Yalom, I. D. (1989). Love's executioner: And other tales

Status anxiety is one of the phenomena that has been present in people's lives since ancient times. Its history began with agricultural societies and the transition to settled life. As people began to acquire goods and property, the concept of status and then status anxiety began to emerge in parallel. Although status anxiety has changed shape from ancient times to these times, it is fundamentally the same. Status anxiety is shaped through the concepts of loss of power, dysfunction, and failure. Examples such as people working in the same job, life stories published in the newspaper, or our friends achieving greater success than us trigger the concept of status in us. Comparison is one of the most important factors that trigger status anxiety. While in a group of five people, everyone being approximately the same height does not affect the morale of the people in this group, a high height difference in another group may cause people to feel inferior. Status anxiety is the result of all our expectations and comparisons. Studies have shown that instead of comparing ourselves with people in the news who we see as very successful, we compare ourselves with the success of the people around us in daily life and we feel more anxiety about the people around us. The main reason for this comes from the idea that the value our close friends and people around us will give us if we are successful will increase. There are two main reasons why we need approval from others. The first of these is the physical one, which can cause physical discomfort and danger if we are not approved by society. Approval from the majority always makes you feel safer. Secondly, there are psychological reasons for our need for approval from society. If we are not respected by others, our self-confidence may be compromised. However, Schopenhauer's words can enlighten us about the value of respect: "If a musician were told that the audience consisted entirely of deaf people, except for one or two people, would the musician still be proud of the enthusiastic applause of the audience?"

Another important factor in status anxiety is meritocracy. With the spread of the concept of meritocracy, status anxiety has become a more common situation. According to meritocracy, as long as people are successful, they deserve respect and, accordingly, they gain status in society. Although it may seem fair, meritocracy cannot be taken as an effective method of self-evaluation in the long run because it focuses solely on one's achievements and ignores the impact of external factors on success.

There are three most effective ways to deal with status anxiety. First, it can achieve meritocracy by not fully accepting it. We can achieve this by being aware that our failures are not entirely due to ourselves. Second, it can help us to define our definition of success. There is no single path to success. Society's understanding of success limits us in many ways and causes us to worry. But our definitions reduce our anxiety by giving us freedom and flexibility. As a result, we must be aware that our successes are separate from our personalities. Although our many achievements are respected by society, we should not forget that each individual has their unique characteristics.

References

De Botton, A. (2008). Status anxiety. Vintage.

She lost her mother when she was 13, and Virginia, who lost her sister shortly after losing her mother, fell into a deep depression. After losing her father a few years later, Virginia suffers a mental breakdown. Virginia Woolf, who became one of the pioneers of the women's movement with her works, struggled with manic depressive illness throughout her life. Virginia Woolf was showing bipolar symptoms. Some cases resulted in suicide attempts and hospitalization due to functional disorders.  Psychological disorders were common in Virginia's family, and there were people on her father's side who had previously been in a mental hospital. His father and mother also had hereditary predispositions. Virginia's mother was struggling with depression. Her mental health was also negatively affected by being abused by her half-siblings as a child. 

Her works include pieces from her own life and she reflects herself in her works. All these psychological disorders she experienced in her personal life strengthened her literary side rather than weakening it. The genius in her writings also comes from what can be called madness. When Virginia was having manic episodes, she would write down her poems very quickly and creatively. She wrote her famous works standing up without ever sitting down. During her depressive period, she felt very lacking and inadequate in terms of inspiration. She was afraid of not being able to write well again. These fears and her thoughts that World War II would never end drove her to commit suicide by going to the river near her home and filling her pockets with stones.

The life of Virginia, one of the pioneers of women's literature with her works, was located between the borders of genius and madness. The good observation behind his creativity and the way he looks at life from a different perspective than other people have aroused interest in his works in many readers. Although Virginia Woolf passed away at a young age, she left behind great works by blending the dysfunction of bipolar and manic depressive disorder, which she struggled with throughout her life, with her creativity.

According to research, it has been observed that people with high self-compassion can cope better with depression and anxiety. Although self-compassion depends on people's character, people can increase their self-compassion with many cognitive exercises and techniques. Mindfulness techniques can increase awareness of self-compassion. When we are left with an irrational belief and begin to blame ourselves instead of focusing on the solution, it is important to recognize the moment and find balance. When irrational thoughts come to our mind, it is possible to avoid this situation by reflecting on our experiences and awareness of that moment instead of exaggerating these thoughts and thinking obsessively.

References 

Neff, K. D. (2011). Self‐compassion, self‐esteem, and well‐being. Social and personality psychology compass, 5(1), 1-12.

Allen, A. B., & Leary, M. R. (2010). Self‐Compassion, stress, and coping. Social and personality psychology compass, 4(2), 107-118.

There are many methods for dealing with negative emotions. First of all, it is important to define oneself. One should get rid of people's judgments and make his own definitions about himself, not resort to an outside source.

Emotions do not always reflect reality. Emotions emerge when the person interprets them with his own reality. Asking for help from time to time is another way to cope with negative emotions. Asking for help and seeking advice is not bad either. It can even help the person cope with negative emotions.

Living in the moment and being in the moment is also one of the important factors. Carrying the burdens of the past can make it difficult for a person to cope with negative emotions. A person should focus on leaving the negative days behind and enjoy the moment.

One of the most important ways to become aware of emotions can be understood by trying to make sense of what the person's emotions mean to them when negative emotions are felt. For this, the person should allow his/her emotions to come to mind in a quiet and comfortable environment and focus on the real reasons underlying the negative emotions he/she feels.

References

ANSARI, S. (2020). NEGATIVE EMOTIONS: THE MECHANISMS TO DEAL WITH IT. 

 While Freud brought a new perspective to the psychoanalytic approach, Jung explained this with collective consciousness on archetypes. Self is an archetype that person is trying to reach in his/her life, however, it's difficult to reach through his/her life. It's one of the most important archetype. For the development of the self , person need to overcome selfishness fear and arrogance. The ego is another archetype. The ego is divided into two: somatic and mental. The ego is a reference and is independent. Accordingly, the ego is unique and individual. Persona is the last archetype. It helps to connect with the outside world. Persona is a flexible thing and it's not a rigid structure. Persona gives opportunity for adapting; such as social values , behavioral adjustment and standards in a society. Persona is in between three factors: I, the ideal self and social model of human. If relationship of these 3 concepts damages then person also deficits.

            Collective consciousness, which is described as the genetic transfer that came from the first humans in the past and was passed on to us by our ancestors, continues to show its effect in the modern world. Although today's modern world varies greatly compared to the past, it is still possible to see traces of collective consciousness. With the development of technology, collective consciousness appears in different forms today. Collective consciousness and globalization have become more widespread in the scientific field with the invention of radio, television and telephone. For this reason, technology has become one of the biggest factors in determining people's archetypes. Artificial intelligence is one of the most important precursors of collective consciousness in the 21st century. Today, neuropsychology, collective consciousness and artificial intelligence research continues rapidly and there will be major breakthroughs in this field in the future.

REFERENCES

•  Adamski, A. (2011). Archetypes and the collective unconscioues of Carl G. Jung in the light of quantum Psychology. NeuroQuantology, 9 (3) , 563-571.
• Jung, C. G. (1936). The concept of the collective unconscious. Collected works, 9(1), 42.

Viktor Frankl was Adler’s student in Vienna. When World War II began, he already started his studies on logotherapy. He was a Jewish psychiatrist, and he was sent to concentration camps. Frankl spent 3 years in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Tuerkheim and Dachau. During the time he was in concentration camps, Frankl witnessed the worst side of human beings, he experienced disease, malnutrition, and pain in firsthand, however, he says: “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.” These words are the milestone of his understanding in logotherapy. Logotherapy touches upon the meaning of life at the existential level and that life has meaning even when it seems the worst and insurmountable. People have free will to choose and change of their behaviors even during suffering.

Frankl has developed some techniques for logotherapy. Viktor Frankl explains how people can find meaning in life. According to Frankl, we can find meaning in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing an action; (2) by loving someone; (3) by our attitude towards inevitable suffering. Only then, Frankl says, can we reach our highest potential and recognize our true essence. Viktor Frankl applies his logotherapy perspective to success also. Frankl says “Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say! —success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.” (Man’s Search for Meaning).

The things that we encounter might look unbearable and miserable time to time, however, there are lots of information that we can learn from Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy. Viktor Frankl, who once got off the train heading towards a concentration camp and was separated left and right by Nazi officers in the choice between life and death, developed a world-known and practiced therapy. He did not lose hope even in the most difficult times, and his aim of sharing his logotherapy studies after the war connected him even more to life. I believe that there are many areas where we can apply logotherapy to our lives. We must dedicate ourselves to a cause, love people, and remember that there is meaning in pain. Despite everything, we must say yes to life and maintain our hope.

References

Barnes, R. C. (2000). Viktor Frankl's logotherapy: Spirituality and meaning in the new millennium. TCA journal, 28(1), 24-31.

Frankl, V. E. (1967). Logotherapy and existentialism. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 4(3), 138.