Sebastian and Fabian met with Psychologist Dag Härfdeldt and covered the topics of Learned Helplessness and Post Traumatic Growth in the War On Cancer podcast episode 3. In an interview with LADBible Dag Härdfeldt explains how we can use these concepts during a period of lockdown and in the middle of the Covid19 pandemic.
Extract from the interview in LADBible
Härdfeldt thinks the pandemic could have enduring positive impacts on both an individual and a global scale.
He said: “One definition of a crisis is that it is a problem that can only be solved by tools we haven’t discovered yet – or rather, that our current tools at hand are not sufficient enough, therefore we need to develop new ones.
“In regards to this, I would like to mention the term post-traumatic growth, which has been poised as an alternative to resilience. Where resilience indicates our ability to return to status quo, post-traumatic growth indicates our ability to grow beyond, rather than return to a previous state. To reach a different state, a state where we can say, ‘This trauma caused us great harm and suffering, but by the end of the day, I consider us to be better off because of it’.
“I do believe this pandemic opens up great possibilities for post-traumatic growth, both for us as individuals, but also for society as a whole.”
He continued: “Another possible positive effect of this pandemic – and an indication of post-traumatic growth – is a healthy re-evaluation of our priorities and increased appreciation of things we have taken for granted.
“I’ve conversed with a lot of patients who have expressed new found appreciation and gratitude for the small things in life, like being able to walk in the park or just being able to visit their family.
“Hopefully, we can all come out of this pandemic with a heightened sense of appreciation for the small pleasures life brings us.”
You can hear Härdfeldt discuss the concept of Learned Helplessness and Post Traumatic Growth on the War On Cancer podcast.
Read the full article and interview in LADBible here
