People perceive and explain traumatic events based on two styles:
A) Optimistic explanatory style, according to which the cause is considered to be external to oneself and unstable in time and the consequences are limited to the specific scope it affects
B) Pessimistic explanatory style, where the cause is perceived as internal to oneself, stable over time and whose consequences are generalized and affect all areas.
Psychological studies have concluded that these explanatory styles are predictive variables of coping with adversities.
In recent years the concept of posttraumatic stress has begun to be reformulated and now in many cases it seems more convenient to call it "posttraumatic growth."
Because there are people who have shown not only to resist extremely adverse situations but to benefit from them, growing emotionally ...
Psychology, formerly more focused on describing and reducing symptoms in the face of adversity (such as depression and anxiety ...), currently tends to consider the person as an active and strong individual, capable of not only resisting but redoing and even learn and benefit from the different adversities you encounter. Traits and abilities that favor the overcoming of problems in a constructive and creative way, based on the concept of resilience, are studied and enhanced.
The resilience:
- It is the ability of the human being, not only to resist and overcome destabilizing events, difficult living conditions or serious events, but to continue projecting satisfactorily in the future despite them.
- It is the ability to transform the adverse situation into an opportunity, to grow in the face of problems ...
- It is “the art of navigating between torrents” (B. Cyrulnik)
There are many metaphors to define and understand the resilient process, such as the one that compares the resilient person with a coffee bean:
"Unlike the carrot, which softens with the effect of boiling water or the egg, which hardens ... the coffee bean, when boiled, not only retains its original form but also improves the adverse circumstance transforming it into rich coffee ..."
Or the process of creating a pearl:
"When a grain of sand enters the inside of an oyster and aggregates it, it secretes nacre to defend itself, surrounding the aggressor layer by layer and, as a result, creates a brilliant and precious jewel ..."
But, not all people who go through a traumatic experience find benefit and personal growth in it. What are the factors that facilitate it?
RESILIENCE FACTORS : are the traits or characteristics that favor the "constructive" overcoming of traumatic events. They function as protective factors against risk situations. They can be internal or external.
Internal Factors: they can be hereditary or genetic (such as intelligence, temperament, physical constitution) and learned (the result of the subject's interaction with its environment).
Among the internal factors that most favor resilience are:
- introspection (ability to reflect on oneself, on one's own limits and abilities in a realistic and honest way)
- independence (ability to set limits between oneself and the troubled environment)
- the ability to relate and establish emotional bonds
- the initiative (ability to take charge of problems and exercise control over them) and proactive attitude (take responsibility for their own actions and make them meaningful)
- moral conscience, personal ideology and / or religiosity (internalized values through vital development)
- creativity (ability to create order, beauty and purpose from chaos. To transform the external environment using imagination. To deal with problems constructively, to address new situations by taking advantage of previous experiences)
- the sense of humor (minimizes the tension generated by problems, reflects the ability to enjoy the possibilities of the environment. It allows to relativize and positivize))
External factors:
- Family and social support network
- Professional support network
GROUP WORKSHOPS
The group as an interpersonal learning laboratory that provides opportunities for problem solving:
What advantages does working in a group have?
- facilitates the communication of experiences
- favors emotional support
- favors the learning of effective coping skills
- facilitates a safe environment of expression of emotions
- favors a protected context where rehearsing new ways of acting
- reduces the feeling of isolation. Encourage inclusion, the ability to contribute something
- economic advantages
Learning to live in the face of adversity
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