Positive Psychology

As I was reading through the notes and reviewing the readings, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t pick just one thing to focus on. So, instead I am going to try and translate real world application to the research findings that have been discussed. Though positive psychology is the focus on reaching your optimal self I’m particularly interested in applying these concepts to individuals suffering from mental illness. Not to say these things are entire solutions, but more like helpful routines to incorporate into the lives of future clients and friends that are seeking to escape depression, PTSD, and in some cases, anxiety.

A good place to start would be to initiate change to their overall pattern of thought, by using the four construal’s as a reference. Emphasize mindfulness by stopping them from comparing themselves to others, ask them to try and identify a positive aspect in the people they meet and the available choices around them, and try to stay in the moment rather than self-reflecting. Even by beginning with just one of these a week, within a month the beginning steps will be structured allowing for their patterns of thought to be redirected. In other words, these positive changes in thought will begin to help broaden their thought. This opens the door to more creativity, thus beginning the stages to build.

The first step is breaking the cycle of pathology. This can take years but once the ball starts rolling a positive cycle can begin to generate resources. Positive thoughts make you feel good, so you think more broadly and expand your creativity which in turn creates resources such as better relationships or job accomplishments. The second step would be to practice using more positive words. At this point, their positive word ratio should have already increased but now we want to push this number to the ratio tipping point, if possible. There would be little need to have them count but maybe take notes on any observed changes in this ratio during discussion.

Another good application would be to ask the client to simply smile during one normally mundane activity. Just smile the whole time. Then ask them to do this during a task that is normally unpleasant. After doing this during a couple different situations ask them to think/talk about if this impacted their day at all and build on those conclusions. This leads to a focus on engaging yourself in the moment, whether it be by really enjoying the tree you walk by or directing your full attention to someone you’re talking to. A way to begin implementing this would be to decreasing their adaptation by relishing over something they’ve seen 1000 times. By decreasing their adaptation, it decreases feeling mundane which in turn allows them to motivate their own engagement; If it’s all boring, you’re not going to want to engage.

Finally, self-esteem becomes the major focus. Hopefully, these positive routines and practiced (now habit) positive thought will have raised their self-esteem level but now it’s time to emphasize it by identifying their flow activities and increasing its frequency. In a way, by practicing intentional flow they are creating the building blocks to expanding their understanding of what flow is and how to achieve it on a day to day basis. Gratitude will be emphasized throughout the entire process by writing one thing a day that you are grateful for and/or in general one thing that was good about that day, expressing to someone that you appreciate them, and appreciating yourself by identifying something you really like about yourself.

This is only a fraction of what needs to happen in therapy, especially for those suffering from severe depression, anxiety and PTSD, but it’s not about just making someone not want to kill themselves or control their flashbacks etc., it’s about helping them open a door to an enriched fulfilling life and without implementing these things or similar things, you are allowing their metaphorical pathology door to remain open. It’s not about moving when your house gets robbed, it’s about learning to use that heavy duty alarm system the house was built with.