Meaning-Making View of Extreme States

Abstract

The perception of extreme states prevailing in contemporary society and mental health systems does not give justice to the transformational aspect of the process of extreme states. It generally views mental distress from the confinements of the perspective of objectivist epistemology and medicalization, disregarding its potential valuable aspects. Consequently, extreme states are reduced to biological malfunction, which renders the process meaningless and can have negative social implications. It is proposed in the article for extreme states to instead be viewed as a call to become aware of the context that the human being finds unbearable. Following this, the emphasis is put on the view of extreme states as an invitation to hold space for exploration and the potential emergence of new ways of being. The aim is not to minimize the suffering that can accompany extreme states, but to bring the meaning-making aspect of extreme states to the forefront.