Resilience Factor 1: Optimism

According to Southwick and Charney (2018), “Optimists believe that good things will happen to them and that with enough hard work, they will succeed.” This sounds great, but not in every circumstance. If someone completely ignores the reality of a situation and still tries to see the best outcome, this is referred to as blind optimism. Realistic optimism dives a little deeper and considers the positive information about a situation and the negative information included in their thought process. In the examples below, the members of our group have looked at optimism and how it is tied to resilience.

Sol

Behaving and taking action in a way that creates positive feelings are important in this situation; because disasters can have such a tangible effect on people's lives it's more than a matter of interpreting a negative event a certain way. Losing your family and/or home to an earthquake, for example, is more difficult to interpret positively than losing a job (where you can at least tell yourself there are other jobs/jobs more suitable to your skills). Instead, actively taking steps to build community in a time of loss and possibly creating positive relationships/experiences would be important to developing optimism in a disaster situation. This article looks at how a community took action to help stay resilient through a natural disaster.

Reference:

Westman, N. (2019, November, 8). How communities can build psychological resilience to disaster. Canada's National Observer. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/11/08/features/how-communities-can-build-psychological-resilience-disaster

Roselyn

This article, talked about 11 tools. The top three that caught my interest are the ways to encourage optimism to kids which includes optimistic-self talk, empathy, recalling happier times, and changing perspective. I also liked and think that the optimism self-assessment and worksheets to create an optimistic mindset are useful in self-reflection which can be a starting point to take measures to learn optimism.

Reference:

https://positivepsychology.com/optimism-tools-exercises-examples/

Michelle

I would encourage people who were exposed to a disaster to prepared for such an event. This would help them be able to be optimistic that suffering from a disaster such as a wild fire or earthquake in the PNW is survivable if they are properly prepared. Becoming prepared is something people could do to feel more realistically optimistic about what is to come and relieve some anxieties. The Red Cross website provides many resources to prepare for disaster. It includes and interactive map to select common disasters for each geographical area. There is also easy to follow steps to prepare. 1. Get a Kit. 2. Make a Plan. 3. Be Informed.

Reference:

How to prepare for emergencies. (2021). Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies.html

Rebekah

In this chapter, the author describes realistic optimism as the ability to identify the negative in a situation and either reframe it to highlight the positive or to throw it away and "cut our losses". In this chapter there were four thoughts to help reframe situations, such as experiencing natural disasters, and build realistic optimism:

1. Focus attention on the positive things around us." Yes, a natural disaster has happen but what good things can you identify? Did everyone survive? Can you rebuild? Did you find important items despite the losses?

2. Intentionally think positive thoughts and do not dwell on negative thoughts." Try to not focus on the losses, accept that this situation has happened but try not to reframe it as 'it could have been worse'.

3. Reframe the negative and interpret events in a more positive light." Acceptance that despite living through a natural disaster is difficult, most things can be replaced. Whatever losses that cannot be easily replaced (photos, technology, etc) can be remade and new memories built. View it as an opportunity to do things again and that you have the power to do them better.

4. Behave and take action in ways that build positive feelings." Find ways to build positivity in the world around you. Say positive things to yourself and those around you. Seek out opportunities to have positive interactions with yourself and your community. Do things within your ability to bring you joy to encourage positive emotions, like listening to music or watching feel good movies. Use positive self talk to remind yourself how strong you truly are to get through this.

Even though it wasn't a natural disaster, the attack on 9/11 was a disaster that united all who watched in horror as what happened unfolded and the loss of life was so great. Those working at the site of the towers found a section of steel beam that had turned into a cross and looked upon it as a sign that "a sign that God hadn't deserted us" and it brought them hope which renewed optimism. In this time of disaster, people found a symbol to focus on and I would encourage people to also look for symbols that bring meaning and hope to enhance their realistic optimism.

References:

Hampson, R. (2014, May 15). Ground Zero cross a powerful symbol for 9/11 museum. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/13/911-ground-zero-museum-cross-world-trade-center/8907003/.

Rieger, M. (2001). Cross from God's house. https://www.michaelrieger.com/OnAssigment/On-Assignment-WTC-9-11/.

Yasmin

Southwick & Charney (2018) describe that in order to become more optimistic, you have to set the intention to think more positively. I think the intentional part of this is very significant. For the individuals experiencing an earthquake, it may be that they have lost loved ones and/or property. They may have also experienced trauma or had a near-death experience, or even witnessed the death of others. I think these are very traumatizing experiences after an earthquake, and setting the intention to focus on positive thoughts and to focus on the future is very advantageous in this scenario. Southwick & Charney (2018) also mention that optimistic individuals tend to think universally about positive things, and if they have one positive experience, then they extend that feeling to other future experiences. Southwick & Charney (2018) also emphasized that optimists focus on what is in their control and have an internal locus. In regards to experiencing an earthquake, which is a disaster that is entirely out of the control of humans, it is vital to focus on what is in their control, such as how they can build resilience while recovering from the earthquake, rather than what is out of the control, such as the earthquake itself. In regards to realistic optimism specifically, one must base their optimism on facts and data. For example, one can research the information on the frequency of earthquakes and death rates, which in some areas is pretty rare with very low death rates. Being a realistic optimist helps us assess each situation at face value with reference to actual data.

Reference:

Namaste Foods. (2021). Our Story. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://namastefoods.com/pages/about

Josh

Our text offers four steps to become more optimistic. They are as follows:

Focus attention on the positive things around us
Intentionally think positive thoughts and do not dwell on negative thoughts
Reframe the negative and interpret events in a more positive light
Behave and take action in ways that build positive feelings

However, I find myself believing that this is insufficient, and in some ways, a dangerous mentality after a shared major disaster. While I understand that the book is not peddling the concept that living in a fantasy world of pure positivity I think there remains danger in "focussing on the positive, reframe the negative, and intentionally thinking positively." I would rather focus more intentionally on the last suggestion of acting in ways that build positive feelings.

I recall when "The Secret" came out in the mid 00's there was a massive influx of people spouting the philosophy that intense positive thinking, a complete avoidance of negativity, and wishes would make anything happen from vast wealth to curing untreatable diseases. While a positive outlook in itself is a good thing, a powerful motivator for change and active healing, the sentiment in The Secret that, "...your thoughts are the primary cause of everything," (Byrne, The Secret, 2006) is narcissistic at best and dangerously decisional at worst. Positive thinking slips quite easily into denial, sometimes becoming psychosis.

My advice for those who have been through disasters is actually to face the tragedy. Acknowledge the event, the loss, the fear, the anger, the horror, and begin to process it. This begins to fulfill the fourth concept of behaving and taking action that returns positive feelings. Reframing, thinking only positive thoughts, focusing only on positive things can lead to negative outcomes. Working on processing the event, working with other survivors, even working to clean up, to help recover, in any way, can help us not only make it through the event and the immediate aftermath, but mitigate the long-term distress.

References:

Byrne, R. (2006). The Secret. Simon & Schuster.

Crista

Appreciation and gratitude helps to focus on appreciating community, relationships and family can help keep attention on positive aspects of a situation. Leniency in expectations related to outcomes and reframing something from a problem into a challenge can adjust expectations and help a challenge become something that is seen as an opportunity to bring positive change. Opportunity and growth seeking encourages learning that can help adaptation to situations.

Helen

The article I read that talks about 7 ways to improve optimism. The article offers advice on how to become more optimistic. The 7 ways are:

1. 1. 1. See setbacks as temporary
    2. Regain a sense of control
    3. Increase performance
    4. Reduce stress
    5. Enhance confidence
    6. Taking a balanced approach
    7. Acknowledge your own contributions

Viewing setbacks as temporary will help someone to learn from the mistakes they previously made. Regain a sense of control is to help someone to take a solution-focused approach to overcome the barriers they have encountered with. Setbacks are part of our life does not mean you will fail every time. Using sentences such as “I might be able to” or “I could try this...”Shift your focus is another way to stay optimistic because focusing on something you can not change will bring you a lot of stress. Your words often have a big impact on your feelings. Positive words will help you stay positive.

Reference:

7 Ways to Be More Optimistic (n.d.). InnerDrive. Retrieved 5/11/21 from: https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/7-ways-to-be-more-optimistic

When faced with a disaster, it may be difficult to remain optimistic about the future. Our goal is to provide you with some suggestions on how you can enhance your realistic optimism. We hope you feel encouraged and as a result you can see how optimism can be linked to an increase in resiliency.

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