Empathizing with those who were victims of bullying, inequality, and identity crisis, I knew precisely how it felt to question your purpose in life and wonder why you were not fortunate enough to life an “easy” life. Though, overcoming these obstacles built a steady foundation for my future. The countless hours of crying myself to sleep, fighting depression, and accepting my insecurities gave me the strength and the knowledge to help those who are not always aware of how to help themselves. If my experiences meant I could save and improve the lives of others, I would faithfully endure the unbearable pain each day, which makes me deserving of the People Helping People
The American Psychological Association (2014) defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress.” (American Psychological Association, 2014, pg.1) Resilience Theory uses the definition of resilience in the context of the lives of clients by explaining although people may face adversity in their lives it is still possible to overcome that adversity to achieve success and personal gains. Resilience Theory describes how clients “use protective factors to assist in a self- righting process over the life course to fare well in the face of adversity.” (Hutchison, 2015, pg.9)
Over decades, the research of resilience has developed from understanding individual’s resilience qualities and protective factors, to the process of resilience and the interventions that promote resilience (Richardson, 2002; Wright et al., 2013). Recently, the focus of resilience shift to the neurobiological process because of the development of science and technology (Wright et al., 2013). While these literatures emerging, there are two noteworthy issues. First, the outcome of the studies were mainly emphasized on main-stream population (Ungar, 2006). Second, little attention was given to resilience across cultures (Ungar, 2006; Ungar et al., 2005). Hence, it is important to investigate how resilience is being defined and understand in different cultures; what are the challenges when conducting a cross cultural research; and what are the key elements when implementing intervention in different cultures.
Able to recover quickly from misfortune; able to return to original form after being bent, compressed, or stretched out of shape. A human ability to recover quickly from disruptive change, or misfortune without being overwhelmed or acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways. As in "Our team showed great resilience," or "Our team had good resiliency." (n.d.)
There were at least one-hundred students standing in front of me. We were waiting for the same thing, to be able to walk across that stage and call ourselves high school graduates. For four years, I had walked down the same dimly lit hallway with the thought of this moment in my head and now the day had finally arrived. It was June 4th and here I was standing in the gymnasium corridors of Los Angeles Community College ready to become my own person, not just some frumpy high schooler.
Each obstacle and failure I encountered led me to be the person who I am today; the person who hides the bruises and scars of my childhood with an enormous smile that glows as if light could counteract darkness. My insecurities, struggles with low self-esteem, and failed attempts in my life must be swallowed and sealed so that I have the opportunity to pursue my life dream: being one of the first in my family to say, “I attended and finished
Therefore, they tend to invest less effort in school. These students need teachers and a school system that believes in them. And most importantly actively listens to them. A school like the one shown in the documentary is highly needed in urban areas. This school promotes all most all the things that you need to foster a resilient student. Schools that establish high expectations for all kids and provide with support have high rates of academic success. Resiliency gives students the ability to deal with challenges and adapt to new or difficult circumstances in a positive, productive manner. For example, the school in the documentary teaches students how to mediate a conflict, this skill will help students to overcome adversities they will encounter in their life. Resiliency is fostered when students learn to forgive others and themselves. Also, it is important for students to feel that they are part of the school community. A great way that the school gives students voice in their own education is “negotiated curriculum.” Students work with faulty to produce sets of questions that are important to their lives and which they would like to learn about it in school. These questions then form the basis for their
Next, I started combating the pessimistic outlook I accumulated over the course of my life, voiding my negative connotations of the future and replacing them with positive thoughts. Rather than assuming that I would be brought down by my socioeconomic status, I decided that I would define my own path through a clear goal and persistence. In creating a sort of tunnel vision, I subdued my critical inner voice, easing myself of some self-doubt.
During life, we all experience various obstacles. Everyone copes with these obstacles in different ways. The way that someone looks at, and handles stressful situations, is one of the ways of defining resilience (Harrington, 2012). One of these obstacles that many students have to overcome is the ability to juggle their jobs, families, and school. This can be a very daunting task.
The concept of resilience to nursing practice can be proven. The concept influences how patients respond to treatment and the success of their recovery. Resilience as a tool for recovery can influence our plan of care and influence how we approach treatement of our patients. Adverse effects such as maladaptive behavior patterns and unmanageable symptoms of PTSD cause great distress in our patients. Hardiness, resilience and invulnerability have been used interchangeably to define “group of phenomena that involve adaptation in the face of adverdity.” (Roisman 2005, p. 264). The phenomena involve “a psychological response to a stressful event and how a person deals the the stress of the traumatic event.” (2005, p. 264). This concept analysis
It was a warm, sunny day in the middle of June. I held my little boy’s hand tightly as we walked through the exit of my high school. In my other hand, I felt the smooth, heavy leather case that housed my high school diploma. I had done it. I had graduated on time, same as my childless classmates. As an adolescent mother, I had beaten the towering odds that were relentlessly stacked against me. I tear rolled down my cheek as my son and I made our way back to the group home in which we lived. No one was there to greet us, or to celebrate this incredible accomplishment, but I was proud of myself, and at that moment, that had to be enough. This was a turning point in my life; I knew that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to, and if only I had known back then how right I was. From that moment on, and from every life experience thereafter, I knew I was meant to assist others in finding their strength, as well as finding the courage and motivation to achieve their goals.
It was a routine Wednesday morning while I was walking to my bus stop when I heard someone shout in my general direction. I slowly glanced around, looking for the source through the dimly lit street in the dark, only to spot a hooded figure to my left leaning on a car. I quickly averted my eyes, my hand tightening around my messenger bag and picked up my pace. Not long after I heard heavy footsteps falling behind me, another shadow joining mine on the cracked sidewalks and another shout,
Through the occurrence of natural or man-made disasters, there has been large-scale devastation where a multitude of deaths and millions of people have been rendered homeless, and displaced. Millions of these people are patients and still suffer from the effects of these disasters. Many are displaced from their familiar health systems; among these are people with cancer, HIV, diabetes and other chronic diseases. These patients are forced to look for alternative health care either though looking for new doctors or resume care in new and unfamiliar settings. The worst part of the scenario is that most of these patients have lost medical information that was imperative for their course of treatment that was either destroyed by disasters or made
Life cannot continue without the possibility of going through change. There was a moment in my life where it all took a turn and the words of Maya Angelou spoke to me in a way that impacted the way I live each and every day, teaching me to keep moving forward. As I looked at the world with my mind filled with turmoil, high school became a greater challenge than expected, and the world had only grown darker. However, through the stress of meeting the expectations of my teachers, one showed me that even through the toughest times, laughter is all it takes to turn it all around. Time had passed, and I learned a lot by the time I finished the course, which led to my neverending desire to look at the world more closely. Rather than staying in my
My path was never set for me growing up. I was not raised by parents who would dress me up in college gear, parents who would research the top schools, or had a school fund account set aside for me; due to this I lived and attended one of the most economically challenged city and school district in the U.S. Although, I was not the most privileged person growing up my ethic background and community influenced me both positively and negatively in ways of culture, language, and my view of the world. The face of my community was weak, old, and crumbled, but it was rich in culture.