Using Storytelling to Reframe Difficult Events and Grow: How Positive Psychology Can Help Change the Story You’re Telling Yourself
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narrative identity
growth stories
redemptive stories
positive reframe
Psychology
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We have all faced adversities and traumas in our lives that can challenge our well-being. For many people, these experiences can be crippling. But self-narrative is a powerful tool we can use to cope with difficult experiences and to move toward psychological and emotional well-being. One of the most significant findings in recent psychology research is that people can choose their thoughts and have control over how they interpret what happens to them. Those thoughts, in turn, can directly impact our well-being. This capstone showcases narrative patterns, strategies, and tools that can help us author and edit the stories we tell ourselves. More specifically, I will cover two storytelling patterns, which are defined by the theme of growth, that result in higher levels of well-being: redemptive stories and positive reframing. I will also offer strategies for how people can begin to adopt these two storytelling patterns into their own lives and minds as they make sense of their difficult experiences.