--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man's concern, even his despair, over…" description: "\"A man's concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease.\" — Viktor E. Frankl" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b77/viktor-e-frankl-668_concern_a-man-s-concern-even-his-despair-over-th_530830.jpg" --- # A man's concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness… ![“A man's concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease.” quote by Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b77/viktor-e-frankl-668_concern_a-man-s-concern-even-his-despair-over-th_530830.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b77/viktor-e-frankl-668_concern_a-man-s-concern-even-his-despair-over-th_530830.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b77/viktor-e-frankl-668_concern_a-man-s-concern-even-his-despair-over-th_530830.jpg) > “A man's concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease.” [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Existential angst about life's purpose is a normal human condition, not a mental illness. **In simple terms:** Life's purpose concerns are normal, not disease. Key Takeaway Accept existential questions as part of humanity. Themes existentialism meaning psychology humanism Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - counseling - philosophical reflection - spiritual searching - personal crisis Key Concepts logotherapy purpose suffering Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate existential distress from clinical depression? - What gives your life meaning? A Different Perspective May overlook medical causes when mislabeling distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Distress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distress/) [Existential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mental Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-disease/) ## Related quotes > [What exists outside is a man's concern; let no woman give advice; and do no mischief within doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/what-exists-outside-is-a-man-s-concern-let-no-woman-give-advice-and/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“Would an evil man show this much concern for me when I’m upset? Stand up for me? Rescue me in the middle of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lauryn/would-an-evil-man-show-this-much-concern-for-me-when-i-m-upset-stand/) Jessica Lauryn > [My understanding of life is very existential. I think that we are our bodies. There's nothing else, and when we die, that's it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/my-understanding-of-life-is-very-existential-i-think-that-we-are-our/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [“Life's existential tasks have lost the interest of reality; illusion cannot build a sanctuary for the divine growth of inwardness which ripens to decisions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/life-s-existential-tasks-have-lost-the-interest-of-reality-illusion/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [I'm really enjoying growing up. I feel like so much of my life was in an existential crisis when I was young, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-m-really-enjoying-growing-up-i-feel-like-so-much-of-my-life-was-in/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [My soul is connected to the energy that created the universe when I die I shall go back to the source of my existence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/my-soul-is-connected-to-the-energy-that-created-the-universe-when-i/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“For too long a time--for half a century, in fact--psychiatry tried to interpret the human mind merely as a mechanism, and consequently the therapy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/for-too-long-a-time-for-half-a-century-in-fact-psychiatry-tried-to/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [No words can express the depth of my hate for those who pick on people with mental diseases. You are the worst humanity has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-words-can-express-the-depth-of-my-hate-for-those-who-pick-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“10. Idealism is a Potent Medicine for Self-created Mental Disease. 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It will successfully drive away devils and spirits that frequent ignorant minds, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/idealism-is-a-most-potent-medicine-for-these-self-created-mental/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [Why, when you have a mental disease, is it always considered an act of imagination? Why is it that every organ in your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-wax/why-when-you-have-a-mental-disease-is-it-always-considered-an-act-of/) [Ruby Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-wax/) > [ The very term \['mental disease'\] is nonsensical, a semantic mistake. The two words cannot go together except metaphorically; you can no more have a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-fuller-torrey/the-very-term-mental-disease-is-nonsensical-a-semantic-mistake-the/) [E. Fuller Torrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-fuller-torrey/) > [“Rodney is fifty four and he has some mental disease where they become all paranoid. Granted he spent his life as a vampire slayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyma-rizwaan-khan/rodney-is-fifty-four-and-he-has-some-mental-disease-where-they-become/) [Cyma Rizwaan Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyma-rizwaan-khan/) ## More by Viktor E. Frankl > [For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/for-the-meaning-of-life-differs-from-man-to-man-from-day-to-day-and/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“In the past, nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, on the contrary, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured. To be sure, people tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-the-past-nothing-is-irretrievably-lost-but-rather-on-the-contrary/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer... his unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/when-a-man-finds-that-it-is-his-destiny-to-suffer-his-unique/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“A positive attitude enables a person to endure suffering and disappointment as well as enhance enjoyment and satisfaction. A negative attitude intensifies pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/a-positive-attitude-enables-a-person-to-endure-suffering-and/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“our sacrifice did have a meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/our-sacrifice-did-have-a-meaning/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man's last freedom is his freedom to choose how he will react in any given situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-last-freedom-is-his-freedom-to-choose-how-he-will-react-in-any/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [The more one forgets himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/the-more-one-forgets-himself-by-giving-himself-to-a-cause-to-serve-or/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-i-venture-to-say-that-would-so/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man's search for meaning is the chief motivation of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-search-for-meaning-is-the-chief-motivation-of-his-life/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/but-happiness-cannot-be-pursued-it-must-ensue/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another one's belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another one's right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-one-s-belief-but-it/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“I think it was Lessing who once said, 'There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-think-it-was-lessing-who-once-said-there-are-things-which-must/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“I believe that my handicap will only enhance my ability to help others. I know that without the suffering, the growth that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-believe-that-my-handicap-will-only-enhance-my-ability-to-help/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“He main retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, 'There is only one thing that I dread: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/he-main-retain-his-human-dignity-even-in-a-concentration-camp/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) [Explore all 381 Viktor E. Frankl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## More Concern quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. 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