065 |Beyond Meaning: Identity Crisis Series

Listen and Subscribe Where You Get Your Podcasts

SS065 Shepherd & The Shrink Beyond Meaning: Identity Crisis Series

Welcome back to the Identity Crisis Series, in which we ask why we’re in an identity crisis and discuss what that looks like. In this episode, we talk about our sixth problematic identity--thinking we’re beyond meaning and purpose--and we wrap up our  Identity Crisis Series.

Today, we talk about meaning: why we think we’re beyond it and how to find it. We note the importance of facing up to the truth, and we talk about what it means to fit ourselves into God’s life instead of trying to fit Him into ours. We define meaning and talk about the three things Viktor Frankl says that we struggle against in our meaning crisis. We point out an inordinate focus on personal perception in our society and we define epicureanism. We discuss what we can learn from Paul when he approached the Athenians, and we note that human beings are religious creatures. We discuss the three things we need to be to combat our identity crisis, we note the meaning and power of hope, and we posit that our meaning is found in God.


“Every human being worships something. Don’t fool yourself.”

- Dr. Marty Fletcher


“Our identity, I believe, is found in God. We just have to discover it. We don’t have to create it.”

- Dr. Matt Hook


This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:

  • The definition of meaning

  • The three things Viktor Frankl says we struggle against in our meaning crisis

  • What we can learn from how Paul approached the Athenians

  • How to identify what you worship

  • Being meaning-makers, truth-tellers, and faithful friends

  • The power of a Christian worldview

  • Finding love

Resources mentioned


Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more amazing people like you.

Join us on Facebook and Twitter, and for more exclusive content and information, visit our website and grab your free guide with 10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety & Defeat Your Loneliness.

Find us on Patreon too, where you can talk to us personally, get cool merchandise and exclusive video content, and more! You can get involved for as little as $1 a month.



Martin Fletcher