Tragic optimism: an integrative meaning-centred approach to trauma treatment

Leung, Mega M.

doi:10.1080/09515070.2019.1633497

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Prior research has already demonstrated that tragic optimism and existential gratitude are critical components for a positive psychology of suffering and for helping people to survive and grow through adversities and trauma . For example, Leung (2019) showed that tragic optimism provides a conceptual roadmap for clinicians to help trauma survivors accept their traumatic experiences, and affirm the meaningful and virtuous aspects of their lives. Wong showed that clients can be helped by suggesting to them that their trauma could be a blessing in disguise and that we can always be grateful for the gift of life .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Key roles for gratitude and tragic optimism in a UK-based cohort.

Mead¹,

Fisher²,

Tree³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Here we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on wellbeing among UK-based respondents (N = 133). We explore the extent to which variables across wellbeing domains (physical activity, gratitude, tragic optimism, social support, and nature connection) contribute to wellbeing according to our previously proposed GENIAL model. Wellbeing was significantly reduced compared to both retrospective pre-lockdown measures (d=0.55) and a Scottish sample from 2018 (d=0.39). The regression model, containing wellbeing-related variables along with age, sex, and subjective socioeconomic status, accounted for up to 50% of the variance in wellbeing. While all predictor variables were significantly associated with wellbeing in zero-order correlations, only gratitude and tragic optimism contributed significantly to the regression model. These findings provide the first evidence for the contribution of these positive psychological factors to wellbeing during the COVID-19 lockdown. Implications for wellbeing at a time of great suffering and existential positive psychology (PP2.0) are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Key roles for gratitude and tragic optimism in a UK-based cohort.

Mead¹,

Fisher²,

Tree³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, as per the tenets of existential positive psychology (Wong, 2020 ), times of such great suffering also provide the greatest opportunities for growth. Looking to history, we have some reason to be optimistic—or perhaps tragically optimistic (Wong and McDonald, 2002 ; Leung, 2019 ). Loneliness became an important factor during the 2003 SARS epidemic, as well, but resulted in increased social cohesion due to the detrimental impact of isolation (Lau et al, 2005 ; Saltzman et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Personal Growth and Well-being In The Time Of Covid: An Explmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The physical distancing measures necessitated by COVID-19 have resulted in a severe withdrawal from the patterns of daily life, necessitating significantly reduced contact with other people. To many, such withdrawal can be a major cause of distress. But, to some, this sort of withdrawal is an integral part of growth, a pathway to a more enriching life. The present study uses a sequential explanatory QUAN-qual design to investigate whether people who felt that their lives had changed for the better after being forced to engage in physical distancing, what factors predicted such well-being, and how they spent their time to generate this sense of well-being. We invited 614 participants who reported closely following physical distancing recommendations to complete a survey exploring this topic. Our analyses, after controlling for all other variables in the regression model, found a greater positive association between presence of meaning in life, coping style, and self-transcendent wisdom and residualized current well-being accounting for retrospective assessments of well-being prior to physical distancing. An extreme-case content analysis of participants' personal projects found that participants with low self-transcendent wisdom reported more survival-oriented projects (e.g., acquiring groceries or engaging in distracting entertainments), while participants reporting high self-transcendent wisdom reported more projects involving deepening interactions with other people, especially family. Our findings suggest a more nuanced pathway from adversity to a deeper sense of well-being by showing the importance of not merely coping with adversity, but truly transcending it.

show abstract

“…Meaning in life is defined as the strength and intensity of the efforts made by people to understand and/or increase the meaning, importance and purpose in their lives ( Steger et al, 2008 ). PP 2.0 adds depth to psychology by applying the paradoxical principle of treating suffering as the foundation for sustainable well-being, as illustrated by Leung’s (2019) tragic optimism of restoring hope through accepting and overcoming traumas and Bowers’ (2019) mature happiness through transcending the dark side of life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships Between the Life Satisfaction, Meaning in Life, Hope and COVID-19 Fear for Turkish Adults During the COVID-19 Outbreak

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current study investigated whether there are significant relationships between life satisfaction and meaning in life, hope and COVID-19 fear and the extent to which life satisfaction is predicted by these variables. The study group of this research consists of 1,186 adults with the mean age of 41.04. Study group participants are consists of different cities of different regions of Turkey. As the data collection tools, the life satisfaction scale, the meaning in life scale, the dispositional hope scale and the COVID-19 fear scale were used. The results of the analyses have revealed that meaning in life, hope (actuating thinking and alternative ways thinking) are significant predictors of life satisfaction as positively. Besides, it is seen COVID-19 fear, age, gender and the presence of people infected with COVID-19 around aren’t significant predictors of life satisfaction in adults.

show abstract

Tragic optimism: an integrative meaning-centred approach to trauma treatment

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Predictors of wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Key roles for gratitude and tragic optimism in a UK-based cohort.

Predictors of wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Key roles for gratitude and tragic optimism in a UK-based cohort.

Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

Relationships Between the Life Satisfaction, Meaning in Life, Hope and COVID-19 Fear for Turkish Adults During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About