Learning from Positive Psychology toprepare for emotional resilience: the Vitamins andMinerals of Mental Health

If we understand what emotional well-being consists of, it will be easier for us to enrich our lives with the right elements to help us flourish emotionally and to manage overwhelming emotions when they present.

In his (2012) best-selling book Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being, Martin Seligman created the PREMA model of emotional well-being to help us understand what makes people flourish and who will tend to become emotionally overwhelmed. Therefore, proactively working on the elements of PERMA will not only increase wellbeing but will also inoculate us against emotional distress. PERMA is an acronym for the five elements of wellbeing. It includes positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and accomplishment or achievement.

Graphic Source: https://www.ethicalquest.co.uk/

Positive emotion is more than just being happy. It includes habitually experiencing a range of specific emotions that are on the happy end of the emotion-spectrum. These include hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, interest and gratitude. Giving preference to experiencing happy emotions will promote emotional resilience and can reverse the harmful effects of negative emotions like depression, trauma and anger (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). Therefore, increasing these positive emotions will expand your physical, intellectual, psychological and social life and result in improved resilience and emotional wellbeing. Have a look at Chapter 8 in my book so that you can see how to create these emotions. Let us have a look at how you can learn to create one of these emotions.

Secondly being engaged in your surroundings creates a state of flow. Being able to create a state of flow at will is a technique that will greatly enhance your emotional resilience.

Csikszentmihalyi’s first coined the term “Flow” in his 1990 book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. He noticed that many artists, professional athletes, musicians and writers reported frequently losing themselves and becoming totally immerged in their work. This state is very similar to being hypnotised or being in the zone and is characterized by a particularly intense focus on and absorption in the activity you are involved with. This state is important for emotional resilience because it is sometimes essential to quite your mind and helps you to shut down those napping negative thoughts. This absorption results in a quiet mind without any internal self-chatter and the emotions this brings. It is a little like when you have driven a long distance and are surprised when you reach your destination, thinking “wow that went quickly”.

In my book I discuss the six factors that characterise the state of flow and discuses a technique on how to induce the state of flow. You can also download Worksheet 12 off my website to help with this https://www.drcmorganpsychology.com/worksheets.

Thirdly Having deep, meaningful and positive relationships plays a critical role in fostering safety and happiness. It has also been found to prevent cognitive decline, contributes to better physical health and increases intimacy, wellbeing and satisfaction. In my book I give some ideas on how to create more positive relationships including keeping an eye on the amount of praise and criticism we give in our close relationships and to ourselves. Fourthly, finding and engaging in causes and pursuits that you find worthwhile will help bring meaning and purpose to your life. Having a meaningful life will make you feel as if you belong to and serve something greater than yourself. This gives you a sense of value and worth and will help you maintain objectivity because we are more able to focus on what is important when we face adversity (Seligman, 2012). Changing meaning is another way for us to remain objectively standing on the balcony.

Creating a meaningful and purposeful life is different for each person. It largely depends on the values you hold dear and can be found through a profession, a social or political cause, creative interests and extracurricular, volunteer, religious or community activities. Living a meaningful life that is true to your personal values and can result in a long and satisfied life with far fewer health problems (Kashdan, Mishra, Breen, & Froh, 2009). Therefore, remember to study and memorise the value profile you worked on before because it will give you a guide to what activities to engage in to give you meaning in your life (https://www.viacharacter.org/).

The last letter in PERMA is A for accomplishments or achievement. Achievements come from having the self-motivation, passion and grit to work towards and achieve goals. Achieving your goals contribute to your wellbeing because you feel a sense of pride and fulfilment in your life when you achieve your goals. When you achieve your internal goals, such a growth and connection, it can often also leads to external gains such as money or fame.

In my book I discuss ways to increase your accomplishments including setting goals, engaging in self-care and ways in which you can work out how to flourish.

I also discuss the emotional “micro-nutrients”, that if done consistently, will improve our mood and make you more resilient. This includes our ability to get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Having these factors in our lives is essential for building resilience and bouncing back from adversity and challenge. Worksheet 15: Emotional Micronutrients on my website will help you understand this and heavily draws on Dr Michael Mosely’s bestselling Fast, book series (Fast Exercise, Fast Diet and Fast Asleep) that will help you implement good habits in vitality.

Now that you understand what combinations of “emotional nutrients” are needed to maintain good emotional growth, it is time to understand what to do about remaining on the balcony of emotional objectivity when the big three emotions try to entice us to their respective emotional dances. More about this in my next Blog.

Regards

Charlotte