Resilience: 3 P's that Stunt Recovery (Sandberg & Grant, 2017)

In their book, Option B:Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, S. Sandberg and A. Grant (2017), identify three factors that impact resilience or the ability to recover from negative events.   According to Martin E. P. Seligman (1991), the three factors that can stunt recovery are:

                            Personalization: the belief that we are at fault

                            Pervasiveness: the belief that an event will affect all areas of our life

                            Permanence: the belief that the aftershocks of the event will last forever

It is easy to apply all of these factors in a negative situation.  And for me, I have used them to try to rationalize or understand the traumatic experience.  However as I have experienced them, these factors take away the hope of a better tomorrow.  They make me feel like there is nothing I can do to resolve or move on from the situation. A hopelessness.  

For me, the keys to recovering from negative experiences have been taking care of myself, which includes exercising daily, eating well and engaging in meaningful relationships.  This requires effort and a belief in myself!  

Read more at: Option B- Sandberg & Grant 2017