Psychological resilience

M.S Sara Dawod

Introduction

Many people are exposed to loss or potentially traumatic events at some point in their lives, and vet they continue to have positive emotional experiences and show only minor and transient disruptions in their ability to function. Un fortunately, because much of psychology ‘s knowledge about how adults cope with loss or trauma has come from individuals who sought treatment or exhibited great distress, loss and trauma theorists have often viewed this type

of resilience as either rare or pathological

How do people deal with difficult events that change their lives? The death of a loved one, loss of a job, serious illness, terrorist attacks and other traumatic events: these are all examples of very challenging life experiences. Many people react to such circumstances with a flood of strong emotions and a sense of uncertainty. people generally adapt well over time to life-changing situations and stressful conditions. What enables them to do so? It involves resilience, an ongoing process that requires time and effort and engages people in taking a number of steps.

Psychological Resilience

is an individual's tendency to cope with stress and adversity.

Psychologists have identified some of the factors that make someone resilient, among them

A positive attitude Optimism.The ability to regulate emotions. The ability to see failure as a form of helpful

feedback.

Resilience is different from recovery:Term recovery is trajectory in which normal

functioning temporarily gives way to psychopathlogy (depression,PTSD )usually for a period of time at least several months and gradually returns to pre event level, full recovery may be raped or may takes as long as one or two years.

Resilience is the ability of individuals who are exposed to an high disruptive event such as death and violent, to maintain relatively stable, healthy level of psychological and physical function

Resilience is common:Researches on acute and chronic grief and

PTSD HAS dominated on how adult cope with aversive life events such reactions come to viewed as the norm. But theorists have been highly suspecting about individuals who do not show pronounced distress reaction or who display positive emotions following loss, assuming that such individuals are suffering from pathological or dysfunctional form of absent grief.

Resilience to loss:Bereavement theorists have viewed the

absence of prolonged distress or depression following the death of a friend or relative termed absent grief as rare and pathological response that result from denial or avoidance of emotional realities and loss, they describe the prolonged absence of conscious grieving as a type of disorder, and the expression of positive emotions during early stage of bereavement as a form of defensive denial or personality pathology.

Resilience to unsettling effects of interpersonal loss is not rare but relatively common, it does appear to indicate pathology but rather healthy adjustment and does not lead to delayed grief reaction.

The researches shows that chronic depression and distress occur in 10% of 15% bereaved individuals .

In studies that report aggregate data bereaved individuals who exhibited low level of depression or distress 50% .

Resilience to violent and life threatening eventTrauma theorists are some times surprised

when exposed individuals do not how more than few OTSD symptoms, those who cope well with bereavement are some times viewed as cold ad unfeeling, those who cope with violent are often viewed in term extreme heroism.

Pathway to resilienceThere are multiple and have way to

resilience.1-HardnessThe personality trait of hardness helps to

buffer exposure to extreme stress, Hardness consists three dimension .

1-Being committed to finding meaning full purpose in life.

2-The belief that one can influence ones surroundings and outcome events.

3-Belief that one can learn and grow from both positive and negative life experiences.

Hardy individuals are also more confident and better able to active coping and social support thus helping them to deal with distress they do experience.

2- Self-enhancement.3-repressive coping .Resilience to loss and trauma has also been found

among another less likely group repressive coping.

Repressors avoid unpleasant thought emotions and memories .

repressive coping appears to operate primarily through emotion-focused mechanism such as emotional dissociation, it is viewed as maladaptive and may be associated with long term health cost.

4-Positive emotion and laughter.Positive emotion can help to reduce level of

distress following aversive event by quieting or undoing negative emotions

There are natural biological processes that facilitate our recovery from stress. A process called allostasis attempts to get all of the physiological systems back to her steady state after the stress response.

There are three core psychological attributes at the heart of resilience:

* Strength.* Meaning/purpose.* Pleasure.

Factors in ResilienceA combination of factors contributes to resilience. Many studies

show that the primary factor in resilience is having caring and supportive relationships within and outside the family. Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models, and offer encouragement and reassurance help bolster a person's resilience.

Several additional factors are associated with resilience, including:1-The capacity to make realistic plans and take steps to carry them

out2-A positive view of yourself and confidence in your strengths and

abilities3-Skills in communication and problem solving2-The capacity to manage strong feelings and impulsesAll of these are factors that people can develop in themselves.

v Ways to build resilience

Make connections. Good relationships with close family members, friends, or others are important. Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems Accept that change is a part of living. . Develop Accepting circumstances that cannot be changed .

Move toward your goals. Take decisive actions. Act on adverse

situations as much as you can. Take decisive actions, rather than detaching completely from problems and stresses and wishing they would just go away.

Look for opportunities for self-discovery.Make a positive view of yourself

Staying flexibleResilience involves maintaining flexibility and

balance in your life as you deal with stressful circumstances and traumatic events. This happens in several ways, including:

Take care of yourself.

Being resilient does not mean that a person doesn't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common in people who have suffered major adversity or trauma in their lives. In fact, the road to resilience is likely to involve considerable emotional distress.

Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.