Finding the Emotional Benefits in Adversity

Martin Luther King, Jr. said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. King, of course, was speaking of adversity and the power to overcome it.

The ability to bounce back from adversity is called resiliency and it has numerous emotional benefits. While it seems some people seem to naturally cope better when faced with challenges, everyone can become more resilient.

Studies show that adversity early in life can be a risk factor for a range of negative outcomes. However, there is also evidence that some children do remarkably well in spite of serious threats to their normal development. Project Competence, a 20-year study, found that the extraordinary resilience and recovery power of children does not arise from rare or special qualities, but from everyday, ordinary experiences.

In the book The Resilient Self, authors Steven and Sybil Wolin describe a model of development they call the challenge model. The Wolins says that while hardships may hurt children, they often develop considerable strengths as they struggle to prevail. They list seven strengths associated with the resiliency: insight, independence, relationships, initiative, creativity, humor, and morality.

The emotional benefits of adversity do not just apply to children. Resilient adults are better able to maintain relatively stable, healthy levels of psychological and physical functioning, and have the capacity for generating positive experiences and emotions. In a study following September 11, those participants who were more resilient were less depressed than the national average (in non-clinical samples). Adults who manage adversity well tend to use active coping mechanisms when dealing with stressful situations.

Experts in the area of adversity and resilience say it's not so much what we do, it's howwe do what we do that counts. One of the keys to successfully overcoming adversity is having the ability to balance stress and emotions. Recognizing your emotions and expressing them appropriately helps prevent you from becoming stuck in depression and anxiety.

Adequate and positive social support is critical to maintaining good physical and emotional health. Resilient adults have strong support networks. Social support enhances your natural resilience to stress and helps protect you from developing trauma-related psychopathology. While the size of your network and the frequency of social interactions within your network are important, having high-quality relationships is a better predictor of good emotional health. Resilient adults also tend to have a strong moral or spiritual sense of their purpose and future.

Sources:

Ozbay, Fatih, MD, Johnson, Douglas C., PhD, Dimoulas, Eleni, PhD, Morgan, III, C.A., MD, MA, Charney, Dennis, MD, and Southwick, Steven, MD. "Social Support and Resilience to Stress: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice." Psychiatry 4(5) (2007): 35-40. Web. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/

Bonanno, George A., Galea, Sandro, Bucciarelli, Angela, and Vlahov, David. "What Predicts Psychological Resilience After Disaster? The Role of Demographics, Resources, and Life Stress." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 75(5) (2007): 671-682. Web.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56241/1/bonanno_what%20predicts%20psychological%20resilience%20after%20disaster_2007.pdf

Helpguide.org. "Improving Emotional Health."  Web. December 2011.

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/mental_emotional_health.htm

Wolin, Steven, MD, and Wolin, Sybil, Ph.D. "The Resilient Self: How Survivors of Troubled Families Rise Above Adversity." Projectresilience.com. Web.http://projectresilience.com/resself.htm

FamousQuotesandAuthors.com. Web.http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/topics/adversity_quotes.html

Masten, Ann S. "Children Who Overcome Adversity to Succeed in Life." University of Minnesota Extension. Web.http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/components/7565_06.html

National Writing Project. "Resilience: Overcoming Adversity and Thriving." Web. 21 October 2009.

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2937

Emotional Benefits of Being a Working Mom

Several recent studies have demonstrated that working, especially part time, provides mental health benefits for women.

A study in the December 2011 issue of the Journal of Family Psychology examined several aspects of well being in mothers who worked part time compared to those who worked full time or not at all. The researchers found that there was little data about this particular category of working mothers (defined as working up to 32 hours per week), particularly through their children's middle childhood. However, up to 25 percent of all women work part time and most will eventually work at least part time.

They found that part-time employment has distinct positive associations with mothers' psychosocial well being and with how they perceive work-family conflicts, although the patterns vary by children's developmental periods and for particular aspects of family life. Part-time working mothers are more likely to report overall better health and fewer work-family conflicts, and less likely to report depressive symptoms. They were also more likely to be engaged in their children's schooling and provide learning experiences for their children.

A December 2011 issue of Time described a study of 1,600 working and stay-at-home moms that found employed women had better mental health status as long as they had realistic expectations of what they could reasonably accomplish and rejected the idea they could be a supermom. Not surprisingly, performing enjoyable work was a contributing factor to positive mental health status.

According to writer Sara Sutton Fell, working at least part time helps mothers develop patience with their kids and teach children that hard work-and working hard-are good. Children of working moms learn to respect women as equals, and retaining a professional career allows women to contribute financially to their kids' well being and future. Employers should recognize part-time work as both a legitimate career approach and a key ingredient to maintaining healthy family lives.

Thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), the government recognizes the importance of facilitating working parents' ability to participate in early childrearing. The Act prohibits employer discrimination based on gender and reinforces the importance of mothers (and fathers) balancing demands of the workplace with needs of the family.

Sources:

Buehler, Cheryl and O'Brien, Marion. "Mothers' Part-Time Employment: Associations With Mother and Family Well-Being." Journal of Family Psychology 25 (6) (2011): 895-906. Web. http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/fam-25-6-895.pdf

Rochman, Bonnie. "Working Women Who Try to Be 'Supermom' May Be More Depressed." Time. Web. 23 August 2011.http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/23/working-women-who-subscribe-to-the-supermom-myth-are-more-likely-to-be-depressed/#ixzz1iy4XDP1h

Fell, Sara Sutton. "4 Benefits of Being a Working Mom." Flexjobs.com. Web. 14 July 2011.

http://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/4-benefits-of-being-a-working-mom/

Poduval, Jayita and Poduval, Murali. "Working Mothers: How Much Working, How Much Mothers, And Where Is The Womanhood?" The Mens Sana Monographs 7 (1) (2009): 63 - 79. Web.

http://www.msmonographs.org/article.asp?issn=0973-1229;year=2009;volume=7;issue=1;spage=63;epage=79;aulast=Poduval