Dr. Alok 'Dr. K' Kanojia

In logotherapy, this condition is termed the existential vacuum.

The first thing that we're going to talk about, he developed this technique called paradoxical intention.

So here's what he said about it.

In order to understand it, one must consider the phenomenon called anticipatory anxiety.

By this, I mean the response and reaction to an event in terms of the fearful expectation of the recurrence of the event.

However, fear tends to come true precisely that which one is afraid of.

And in the same vein, anticipatory anxiety triggers off what the patient so fearfully expects to happen.

Thus, a vicious circle is established.

A symptom evokes a phobia and the phobia provokes the symptom.

The recurrence of the symptom then reinforces the phobia.

I'm sitting here and I'm saying, look, you should go out and act more.

But Frankl figured this out.

When I say go out and act more, he discovered that there is something that's getting in the way of your acting.

That is your anticipatory anxiety.

So if I take someone who is forever alone and I tell them, go out and talk to people, this evokes some anxiety.

Things are not going to go well.

People won't like me.

And then if you push yourself and force yourself out into public.

You will be so in your head and anxious.

You will be sending off the wrong empathic energy so that people are going to think you're awkward and you're a creep.