Resilience - Positive Psychology & Storytelling - Module 9

Resilience :

Video : https://youtu.be/Qs3gNn8ZuJ8 (Links to an external site.)

 

 

 

Story 9 – Story of the Bird and the Hunter - Retold from the version The Freedom Bird by David Holt.

 Story Reflection Task: 

• Who does the Hunter represent? In your life what or who are the Hunters (adversities) challenging you?
• What resources does the bird have? Imagine beyond the story to think of all the resources the bird has.

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Knowing Resilience:

Dictionary definitions of Resilience is the ability to recover from difficult situations, toughness, also the ability (for inanimate objects) to spring back into shape.

Psychologically: Resilience is having patterns of positive adaptations in the face of adversity or risks.

Resilience is a way to manage stress. It refers to our ability to cope with whatever life throws at us. Some people are knocked down by challenges, but they return as a stronger person more steadfast than before. Resilience is the ability to bounce back.

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian Psychiatrist, incarcerated in many concentration camps during the second world war,  observed himself and human behaviour during this traumatic period. He was released from camp and went on to define and formulate a theory called Logotherapy, which throws light on what helps build meaning and purpose in our lives. He theorised that if we have a Purpose, we will find the How or a Way to live.  His book Mans Search for Meaning ( 1946) has largely influenced Resilience studies.

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Resilience Theory is a collective model which has been developed by many scholars. Most notable amongst them is Dr. Norman Garmezy ( Minnesota University). His work focused on how to prevent mental illness in children through motivation, cognitive skills, social change and personal voice, leading to the development of the Project Competence Longitudinal Study (PCLS) ( 2012).

A comprehensive scholar article for you to read on this: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2012/390450/ (Links to an external site.)

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Unlike the above study on children, another fascinating study focuses on Adult Personal Resilience (Dr. Rober J Taormina from the University of Macau) which talks about 4 key factors that helps build internal and intra personal resilience:

Determination - The willpower and firmness of purpose one has.

Endurance - Personal strength and fortitude.

Adaptability- capacity to be flexible and resourceful

Recuperability - ability to recover from harm, both physical and psychological

The researchers predict greater application of this theory in field of personality, organizational behavior , cultural studies, and counseling.

You can read the theory and study here for your own interest.

https://psyct.psychopen.eu/article/view/126/html (Links to an external site.)

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While the above construct focus on Individual traits, Seligman looked at Resilience as a way in which we explain events to ourselves. His ideas of building Resilience stem from a realistic and flexible way of solving problems and decision making. The Penn Resiliency Programme for adolescents and young people has helped prevent clinical depression and anxiety. Another curriculum developed at Strath Haven school focuses on building Character Strengths, using them in daily life and learning to increase positive emotions while reducing negative emotions. All these aspects go towards developing a Resilient individual.

Dr. Seligman et al once again brought focus to Resilience and proposed that the way we can handle setbacks determines how Resilient we are.  The way in which we respond to adversity is characterised by the way in which we explain events which he called the 3 P’s. So by learning to handle our responses we can build resilience.

Personalisation – a cognitive distortion where we internalise a problem or failure.

This is related to the Internal vs External explanatory style. If we have a tendency to blame ourselves for everything, instead of also looking at external factors, there is a risk of reducing resilience.

Permanence – believing bad events will last forever instead of being temporary.

This is related to Stable Vs Unstable explanatory style. We can look at events as being transient and unstable in time to help cope and build resilience.

Pervasiveness– believing negative things are spread across all facets of life.

This is related to Local Vs Global explanatory style. When we look at the negative event as local and specific, instead of generalising to all domains of life, it helps build our ability to bounce back.

The way we attribute causes (optimistic explanatory style) has a large influence on how Resilient we are.

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In a TED Talk by Jane McGonigal (a game designer), speaks about 4 types of Resilience :

Physical – ability to push physical limits by engaging in activities.

Even if we want to sit on the couch, we can push ourselves to go for that walk and exercise thus showing physical resilience.

Social – ability to meet people in new situations.

Taking steps to reach out to people, stay connected , meet new people and situations builds social resilience.

Mental – the ability to solve problems and challenges.

Picking up new cognitive challenges builds mental resilience

Emotional – ability to name and manage emotions.

Confronting our emotions and working with them builds emotional resilience.

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A very important aspect of building Resilience is related to our ability to regulate emotions. Initial studies by Barbara Friedrickson showed a promising relationship between Positive emotions and Resilience. Currently Harvard Psychologist Susan David has conceptualized Emotional Agility as a key component in understanding self and building resilience.

Emotional Agility: This concept introduced by Harvard Psychologist Susan David, who studied Happiness, emotions and achievement for more than 20 years. According to this construct, no matter what personality we have or what type we are, the way we handle self-talk, our thoughts and emotions determine how we navigate the outside world. This construct focuses on the emotional adaptability we have , the ability to manage changes in emotions as playing a key role in building Resilience.

Click on this link to view a video of Susan David explaining the concept:

https://archive.org/details/Susan_David_on_Emotional_Agility (Links to an external site.)

Knowing how to handle and adapt our emotions plays an important role in how we approach the world around us. Emotional Agility is a way to get unstuck, embrace change and thrive.

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Resilience has been the focus of study in Positive Psychology for more than 50 years now. Some other notable studies in this field are:

Grit - The Power of Passion and Perseverance ( Angela Duckworth - 2007)

Shame Resilience Theory - Brene Brown ( 2006)

Fixed Vs Growth Mindset - Carol Dweck ( 2012)

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Resilient Individuals have the following characteristics:

1) Self Regulation and Self Efficacy

2) Have problem solving skills

3) Have strong social connections

4) Identify as survivors

5) Reach out and ask for help

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Ways to build Resilience:

• Be Mindful
• Have a Positive view of self and others
• Have goals
• Persevere
• Believe in self
• Reach out
• Take Help when needed

 

Mindfulness	Positive Reappraisal	Perseverance	Self Efficacy	Meaning &Purpose	Social Support
Take a pause and think about a way to respond to the situation	See ourselves as resilient and find ways to bounce back	Not giving up	Belief that we are resilient	Knowing there is a purpose for us to be resilient	Know the people who will support us during these times and asking/ taking support

 

Resilience to Thriving:

Resilience is seen as bouncing back from adversity and coming to normal, while Thriving is coming out even stronger after facing the adversity. Examples abound of people who face personal or collective loss, but go on to build a personal identity or a collective community in spite of all that they have faced.

What is Thriving?: The ability to flourish , to live a good life and to experience Eudaimonic Well being is known as Thriving. (where Eudaimonia is a Greek word that also means flourishing and prosperity).

Indicators of thriving are

• love of learning,
• life skills,
• healthy habits,
• emotional competence,
• social skills,
• positive relationships,
• spiritual growth,
• character,
• caring,
• confidence,
• persistence,
• resourcefulness
• and purpose.

Building Resilience is one of the goals of Positive Psychology. Now we should strive to Thrive and go beyond just building Resilience - we should Hope (have goals, a way and the will ) to become much stronger in the face of adversity.

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Highlights of this Module:

1) Resilience is having patterns of positive adaptations in the face adversity or risks

2) 4 Key factors that help build internal and intra-personal resilience:

Determination, Endurance, Adaptability, Recuperability

3) Seligman et al proposed 3 P ( explanatory style ) for building Resilience : Personalisation , Permanence, Pervasiveness

4) 4 types of Resilience : Physical, Mental, Social & Emotional

5) Emotional Agility as proposed by Dr.Susan David - knowing, naming and managing Emotions as a way to build resilience.

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Topic Reflection Task:

1. Think of 2 situations/ events that have happened to you and write about what it helped build in you, and how it has made you Resilient.
   
2. What steps do you need to take to Thrive?
3. Create a Metaphor for Resilience - . What is your image or Metaphor for Resilience?  Eg : Bounce Back makes us think of a trampoline or a spring. For some Resilience could be climbing a mountain. ( for me a cockroach is all about Resilience!)
   
4. Write a Poem about Resilience.

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Research :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl#cite_note-23

https://shac.unm.edu/documents/positive-psych-workbook.pdf

Free PDF of Pos Psych Workbook to Download.pdf

 (Links to an external site.)https://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2012/390450/

https://psyct.psychopen.eu/article/view/126/html (Links to an external site.)