Page 10 - JCBP-2-3

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Eudaimonia

my emotions” (serenity), “I am aware that humor means ill. After his death, she learned that he had bequeathed
to laugh nevertheless” (humor), “I avoid to reheat old all his money to his earlier wife.” Patients are then asked
stories and events” (forgiveness), “I accept that many to comment on the problem from the perspective of the
things cannot be changed (self-distance), “I always see the victim, then the bystander, and finally, the wrongdoer.
chances which come out of problems” (optimism), and “I Through this process, individuals can experience and
know that time is a great healer” (sustainability). develop skills such as change of perspective, value
relativism, contextualism, emotional empathy and serenity,
5. Wisdom training and therapy control of aspirations, forgiveness, and sustainability. The
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Given the significant role of eudaimonia and wisdom in use of fictitious problems follows the “Solomon paradox”
life, this topic holds relevance for patients as well. Teaching and the general knowledge that it is easier to give advice to
eudaimonia and wisdom should be a target not only in others but difficult to accept advice oneself. Manuals for
education and counseling but especially in psychotherapy individual and group psychotherapy describing the details
39,53
and psychosomatic medicine. However, this perspective of the therapeutic process are available.
has been widely neglected and underrecognized, as 6. Conclusion
underlined by Oldhameditor of the Journal of Psychiatric
Practice, who admitted in a 2022 editorial that he had only Therapists treat human beings, not just illnesses. Patients
recently learned the “new word” eudaimonia. 47 experience hardship due to illness and related symptoms,
insecurity about the future, participation restrictions, and
Empirical evidence suggests that wisdom training and dilemmas across various life domains. While alleviating
wisdom psychotherapy can help individuals in various suffering is important, achieving mastery of life, finding
facets of life, offering avenues for individuals to find their contentment with life, and experiencing eudaimonia
goals, purpose, and meaning in life, as well as to cope with are equally important. Although clinicians universally
burdens and difficult situations in life. Moreover, they aid recognize this, there is a lack of corresponding theoretical
in striking a balance between personal aspirations with the concepts in psychotherapy, compounded by a lack of
rights and wishes of other people, fostering self-acceptance elaborated therapeutic strategies and empirical evidence.
and acceptance of the given reality. These practices Scientific evidence and clinical experiences suggest that
facilitate reconciliation with the past, fostering forgiveness integrating wisdom psychology into psychotherapy holds
for negative events, while simultaneously encouraging a promise for fostering eudaimonia. Nonetheless, further
forward-looking perspective. They empower individuals to research is necessary for the refinement of concepts and
enhance their self-control and autonomy, enabling them to the development of treatments.
withstand hardship and embrace suffering when necessary,
all while steadfastly fulfilling their responsibilities, even Although there exists a large body of literature
in the face of discomfort. 12,39,48-52 It is important to note on eudaimonia and wisdom, as briefly summarized
that the goal is not to pursue happiness but rather to help above, numerous questions remain unanswered. There
individuals live a decent life. are variations in definitions, leading to challenges
in differentiation or overlap between hedonia and
In addressing these aspects, wisdom therapy eudaimonia. This discrepancy includes the role of
sis a psychotherapeutic approach, which is part of individual subdimensions, as demonstrated by Mise
cognitive behavior therapy. 39,49,53 When examining the and Busseri, who have found that correlations were
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aforementioned subdimensions of wisdom, the potential strongest for well-being and weakest for motives. In
for effective psychotherapeutic intervention becomes addition, the role of time is a factor. Huta has discovered
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evident. Psychotherapists have long understood how to evidence suggesting that eudaimonia and hedonia are
facilitate changes in perspective, foster empathy, enhance clearly distinct in the momentary time span, yet less so
uncertainty tolerance, or cultivate forgiveness. Such over a longer duration. Furthermore, differences across
strategies can also be used in wisdom psychotherapy. individuals exist, as data from the MIDUS study suggest
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Furthermore, there exists the “method of unsolvable that hedonia and eudaimonia largely converge in about
problems” to teach individuals how to navigate complex 70% of observed persons, while the remaining 30%
situations and dilemmas. Patients are confronted with experience divergent levels. These conceptual problems
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fictitious case vignettes, which describe negative and can be explained in part by problems in the assessment of
irrevocable problems. For instance, they involve a scenario these highly complex constructs. Nevertheless, there are
featuring a perpetrator, a victim, and a winning bystander: theoretical and clinical justifications for maintaining the
“Mrs. Miller, who has lived with a man for some time and distinction between both concepts. They target different
in recent years even cared for him lovingly when he fell topics, and, in some cases, even stand in opposition to each

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 4 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.2988