As we know, optimism is beneficial in many ways. When adversity strikes, it makes sense that optimistic people have an advantage. Jonathan Haidt documented empirical support for this on page 146 in his book The Happiness Hypothesis (Basic Books, 2006). Haidt reports that when trauma/crisis occurs, people cope in three primary ways:
- active coping: taking action that matters to address the difficulty;
- reappraisal: conducting an internal assessment to make sense of the adversity;
- avoidance coping: blunting emotional impact by avoiding the difficulty itself, by distracting oneself, or by anesthetising oneself with drugs/alcohol.
Optimists tend to alternate between the first two coping styles while pessimists tend to use the third. As a result, optimists may actually experience post-traumatic growth. Pessimists, who are working harder on managing their pain than they are on overcoming the adversity, may get stuck in the trauma impact.
This specific reminder of the difference between how optimists and pessimists cope with trauma is relevant not only for our clients, but for us as well. If we are fortunate to be optimisitc in our general approach to life, then we can make use of this trait in addressing trauma impact. If we are, unfortunately, pessimistic, this provides significant impetus for developing greater optimism. The good news is that optimism, like resilience, can be cultivated. Now is the time to begin.
If you want to check your optimism/pessimism status, go to www.authentichappiness.com and take the Optimism Test. This is based on Dr. Martin Seligman’s work on cultivating optimism, a great resource.
