World renowned researcher, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson talks about the scientific evidence of the value and power of resilience, in her book, ‘Positivity’.
Emotional Health: After 9/11, a group of students (at University of Michigan) who had been given a Resiliency Scale prior to the crisis (that proved to be most opportune) were studied for their emotional responses after the national crisis. Those with a highly resilient personality style showed less depression. They were not emotionally indifferent either. In fact, they showed greater psychological growth: more optimism, tranquility and fulfillment!
They were not in denial or being selfish. They were in touch with reality. They expressed sadness, fear and anger as the rest of the nation. They simply did not wallow in it. They expressed compassion for others. They felt more love, hope, awe, curiosity and gratitude. Negative and positive emotions were present together, side by side.
Other studies done later (including one with older populations suffering personal crises) also found that the key ingredient of resilience is positivity. The downward spiral of negativity is checked early and the upward trajectory of growth is begun. People who are more positive bounce back from setbacks and shift to an upward, progressive path quicker.
Heart Health: Cardiovascular reactivity (blood pressure, heart rate and constriction of blood vessels) was studied in relation to emotions. When volunteers in the lab were challenged with a stress inducing situation (surprise public speaking task) their anxiety rose. Blood pressure and heart rates went up, and veins constricted. Those who were predisposed to positivity had a ‘hidden reset button’ so to speak. Their measures had spiked but they were the quickest to recover to baseline and the cardiovascular effects of negativity were undone.
In a second study people with different resilient personality styles were also studied in the lab. Higher resilience was directly related to calming of the heart within seconds compared to others with lesser resilience. “Good feelings not only flush out bad feelings, they also quiet your heart and quickly bring your blood pressure back to normal.”
Brain Health: A study was done using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging that measures brain activity by detecting blood flow changes) to gauge how resilient personality styles think uniquely in response to bad events. Visual cues were used as gentle threats and resilience was examined before and after anticipated negativity. There were three significant results:
– faster recovery in the activity in the Insula (brain area linked to conscious feeling states)
– less brain activity in the OFC (Orbital Frontal Cortex: brain area linked with worrying)
– brain scans show that when people have less worry / anxiety, there are less neurons firing in the related brain area and they experience faster relief.
People with highly resilient personality styles are equally moved by actual negativity but rebound faster. Their brain scans proved that. They stay alert to the present moment, respond humanly, avoid ‘what if’s’ or jumping into the future, and quickly move on. They are ‘emotionally nimble’.
As Dr. Fredrickson says, “Positivity puts the brakes on negativity and equips you to rebound both physically and emotionally.”