Resiliency and Positive Psychology - Essay Example

?Building Resiliency with Positive Psychology This paper discusses the concepts of Positive Psychology and Resiliency factors in aiding members of the army face the enormous stress they face in their lives. Positive Psychology is the study of conditions and processes contributing to the optimal functioning of people, groups and institutions while resiliency factors are traits such as hardiness and mental toughness that help an individual be strong in the face of adversities and bounce back with ease when they fail. Together, both positive psychology and resiliency factors empower an individual to readily face and survive life challenges. Contemporary times have brought about so many complexities that people have to live with. One of these is stress which may come in various forms and degrees. Everyday stress such as catching the bus, making sure one gets to work on time, sticking to one’s budget, and so on, are easily acceptable as part of living. However, high-stress situations such as going through a divorce, losing one’s job, or going to war may take its toll on one’s health, personality and relationships. If an individual has not developed a stronger personality that can take on life’s challenges, then he could easily give up and fail. One valuable trait that people should develop in facing such challenges is resiliency. I. Stress in Army Life Military soldiers and leaders lead a highly stressful life, sticking to a rigid disciplinary routine, dealing with sensitive issues for the protection of the country, and when they go to war, the risk of death and disability as well as the prevailing threat of becoming prisoners of war. King et al (2011) studied some soldiers who became captives of war to identify captivity stressors and its effect on their mental health. Being in captivity during the war can bring about the most severe, enduring and multifaceted trauma apart from ill health. Some captivity stressors they had to live with were the fear of being taken away, physical and psychological torture and total loss of control. Most of them suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that lingered for many years. The authors found that the greater amount of physical torture experienced, the more trauma, general distress and interpersonal negativity is developed in the soldier. In order to cure this, several interventions need to be done both in their physical and psychological aspects. It was found that when the recipient of torture is repeatedly tortured, he gains a sense of control over his reactions to the situation, and this perception of control becomes a stress-buffering expression. Disclosure of their war experiences can also be cathartic, but it needs to focus more on the positive events that happened instead of dwelling on the negative. King et al’s (2011) study emphasized the need of the military to be psychologically prepared for war and its consequences. They noted that the US Army has made initiatives to evaluate the effectiveness of their soldiers’ intensive training in emotional resiliency (Burling, 2009; Carey, 2009; De Luce, 2009). It was found that training in psychological health was lacking in military training. The study recommended the use of positive psychology research to derive strategies in enhancing strengths and reduce problems as well as increase personal growth after the trauma has subsided. This would include active, constructive responding to various scenarios. One kind of training that applies positive psychology to develop resilience is the Master Resiliency Training of the Army Community Service (ACS). It conditions its trainees to think ahead of solutions to impending and probable problems and not focus on the counterproductive patterns in thinking. To master resilience, self-awareness of strengths, energy management, problem-solving skills, assertive communication, realistic thinking are all emphasized among other positive values that need to be acquired and developed (ACS, 2012). II. Resiliency Factors The ability to face any trial and bounce from failure may be described as mental toughness or hardiness. Studies have yielded positive outcomes on this construct focusing on the ability to exhibit resiliency in the face of high stress (Veselka et al, 2012). One finding by Kobasa (1979) proposed that hardiness is made up of commitment, control and challenge. Commitment is devoting time to one’s life purpose and finding meaning in encountered experiences. Control is the feeling of being influential rather than helpless in adverse situations. Challenge is acceptance of change as a normal part of life and such belief stimulates rather than threatens one’s security (Veselka, et al., 2012). Clough et al. (2001) adds another factor to the three components of hardiness, which is confidence, or a high sense of self-belief. All of these four factors interplay to build up one’s mental toughness, as missing one factor will not enable an individual to be resilient in the face of adversity. Veselka et al. (2012) adds that finding humor in such adverse situations eases stress and impacts a person’s resiliency. Their study concludes that one’s style of humor may either strengthen or reduce mental toughness or resiliency. Individuals who exhibit affiliative or self-enhancing humor are more likely to strengthen their mental toughness and demonstrate greater resiliency against life’s challenges. On the other hand, those exhibiting aggressive or self-defeating humor are more likely to show reduced mental toughness and more vulnerability to stress and challenge (Veselka et al., 2012). III. Positive Psychology Positive Psychology was borne out of the realization that so many people dwell on the negativities in life thereby affecting their physical and psychological well-being. Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, founders of Positive Psychology, explain that it focuses on cultivating an individual’s strengths and nurturing an optimistic approach to life rather than concentrating on its downside. Gable and Haidt (2005) define Positive Psychology as the study of conditions and processes contributing to the optimal functioning of people, groups and institutions. Its three central concerns are the understanding of positive emotions, development of positive individual traits and the establishment of positive institutions (Positive Psychology.org). Positive emotions are understood when an individual’s personal history is studied, searching for the source of his positive emotions and highlighting these to further develop positivity. Development of the positive traits of subjective well-being, optimism, happiness and self-determination (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi , 2000) ensures that a person has enough motivation to stay positive despite all the trials and tribulations that life has to offer. Finally, building of positive institutions entails studying strengths that foster better communities. The science of Positive Psychology aims to “support families and schools that allow children to flourish; workplaces that foster satisfaction and high productivity; communities that encourage civic engagement and therapists who identify and nurture their patients’ strengths” (Positive Psychology.org). IV. Marriage of Positive Psychology and Master Resiliency Competencies If Positive Psychology is gaining strength as a movement to dispel people’s fears of facing adverse situations and empower them to overcome stress and succeed in life, what more if the development of resiliency competencies is added? There are unlimited possibilities of such potency in battling life’s challenges! Positive Psychology may be a more established movement than clustered trainings for resiliency building programs such as Master Resiliency Training. Both look out for the welfare of its constituents and empower them with forward and positive thinking that they can indeed succeed in their goals despite the negative factors that may threaten them to fail. Master Resiliency Training is more geared towards developing a stronger army and use language that the military people can relate to such as “Avoid thinking traps” or “Detect icebergs”. These are more actionable strategies and direct advise to the trainees. Once they have developed a kind of thinking and the courage to apply what they have learned, they are released to survive on these. Positive Psychology, as a new science which is gaining more support from various stakeholders, has more ambitious goals to reach more people through education, therapy, training, etc. Master Resiliency Training can very well fit under one of Positive Psychology’s programs since they share the same advocacy to empower people to think and live more positively. Conclusion Nowadays, most people need a paradigm shift in facing their life challenges. It is much easier to fall into the temptation of giving up instead of carrying on like good soldiers. As in the Army, people need to have a shot of Positive Psychology and develop the resiliency competencies that are necessary for them to survive, bounce back and move on to the next level until they successfully achieve all of their goals. That way, they can live happy and productive lives, undaunted by negative forces that threaten them to fail. References Army Community Service (2012) Master Resiliency Training, Retrieved on 28 September 2012 from http://www.himwr.com/deployment- management/resiliency-training Burling, S. (2009, July 31). Penn Center to help Army with stress. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved from http://www.philly.com Carey, B. (2009, August 18). Mental stress training is planned for U.S. soldiers. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com Clough, P., Earl, K., & Sewell, D. (2001). Mental toughness: The concept and its measurement. In I. Cockerill (Ed.), Solutions in Sport Psychology (pp. 32–42). London: Thomson. De Luce, D. (2009, August 20). U.S. Army to teach stressed soldiers to “bounce back”. Military World. Retrieved from http://www.militaryworld Gable, S. & Haidt, J., (2005) What (and why) is positive psychology?, Review of General Psychology, 9: 2, 103-110 King, L.A., King, D.W., Schuster, J., Park, C.L., Moore, J.L., Kaloupek, D.G. and Keane, T.M. 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