by Sandra Gut | March, 2024 | Positive Psychology
Introduction What if everyone was born a hero? What if it’s just a matter of tapping into that potential? According to Joseph Campbell (1949), we are all heroes of our own stories. In Joseph Campbell’s book, ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces,’ he explores the concept of heroism beyond individual acts of bravery. This pattern, known as ‘the hero’s journey,’ follows a specific path that ordinary people take when they are called to embark on a challenging and unfamiliar adventure. Along this journey, they face trials, tests, and challenges that ultimately transform them. Finally, the hero returns to their original world, now as a changed and heroic individual (Campbell, 1949). Campbell described the function of the journey as necessary, designed to ‘wake you up’ (p. 12). This hero’s journey consists of three stages: departure, initiation, and return Stages of the Hero As the hero begins their journey, they are immersed in a familiar, ordinary world. Everything is normal, and nothing unusual has happened. It is the ‘pre-period’, before traumatic events, illnesses or injuries, for example, occur. Departure: This stage represents the beginning of the journey. It begins with a certain event or situation that serves as a ‘call to adventure’. The call ‘signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred their spiritual centre of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown’ (Campbell, 1968, p. 58). It is possible for the traveller to initially refuse the call due to a fear of potential dangers, involving leaving their comfort zone, embracing new challenges and venturing into the unknown. This phase often includes an initial struggle,...
by Sandra Gut | February, 2024 | resilience
Introduction Resilience attracted considerable attention and underwent substantial development in the 1970s, leading to a more profound understanding of the concept. According to Masten (2011), resilience has been observed in at-risk children with mental health and developmental issues caused by genetic or environmental factors. Resilience, as defined by Masten (2001), is the ability of a dynamic system to withstand or recover from significant changes that threaten its stability, viability, or development. This is primarily achieved by managing negative emotions and mobilising behavioural responses to alleviate stressful situations. Moreover, resilience aids individuals in coping with challenging life experiences by proactively adopting behaviours that enhance positive emotional perceptions of those experiences (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985). Key Theoretical Elements Masten (2001) is renowned for describing resilience as ‘ordinary magic’, emphasising two essential criteria: (a) one’s capacity to adapt and develop in a positive way and (b) conditions that makes it difficult to adapt well. Positive adaptation, or development, refers to the accomplishment of developmental tasks and psychological adaptations to the environment. Masten (2001) frequently mentions two resilience theories: variable-focused and person-focused approaches. Using multivariate analysis, correlations among variables are explored in a variable-focused approach. Even though this method is statistically strong and can show patterns across variables (such as the person, their environment, and their experiences), it falls short of capturing a person’s entire experience. On the other hand, a person-focused approach considers the whole person, compares resilient and non-resilient individuals, as well as examines life course pathways and determines why they differ. Character Strengths as Resilience Factor Many people find that navigating through a traumatic experience necessitates the use of both...
