Turning Points and Protective Processes in the Lives of People With Chronic Disabilities

Abstract

In this qualitative study, the authors examined the nature of resilience in people with chronic disabilities. Fifteen people with disabilities identified the factors that helped or hindered them at major turning points, and the triggers and resolutions to these turning points. Turning points were emotionally compelling experiences and realizations that involved meaning acquired through the routes of belonging, doing, or understanding the self or the world. The major protective factors were social support, traits such as perseverance and determination, and spiritual beliefs. Three new protective processes were identified: replacing a loss with a gain (transcending), recognizing new things about oneself (self-understanding), and making decisions about relinquishing something in life (accommodating). These protective factors, processes, and ways in which people with disabilities draw sense and meaning in life have important implications for service delivery.

‘They're battle scars, I wear them well’: a phenomenological exploration of young women's experiences of building resilience following adversity in adolescence

“…Some studies have highlighted the importance of 'turning points' in people's accounts although these have been conceptualised in different ways. A 'turning point' may be an event which creates a 'fundamental shift in the meaning, purpose, or direction of a person's life' (King, Cathers, Brown et al 2003;p.186). Everall et al (2006) conducted a grounded theory study of young women's recovery from suicidal thoughts and feelings.…”

The fibromyalgia diagnosis – hardly helpful for the patients?

“…Realizations about a failing body come when people try to live as before, while becoming socially identified and self-defined exclusively by their impaired bodies. Resilience reflects the notion that some people are more able than others to fend off the negative consequences of stressful experiences [2].…”

“…Phenomenological analysis of the ''worlds'' of doctor and patient reveals a fundamental distinction between the lived experience of illness and its conceptualization as a disease [4]. Receiving a diagnosis can be one of many turning points in the lives of people with chronic disabilities [2].…”

Coping with anxiety in patients undergoing hip replacement

“…It seems that the results presented by the authors confirm certain positive aspects of task-oriented coping and the orientation to give positive meaning to difficulties. King and others emphasize that sick people who treat their condition as a challenge can achieve a higher level of adaptation (King et al, 2003). Coping styles have properties that may catalyze the influence of personality predisposition on the reaction with anxiety states, which was also revealed in the reports by Ziarko and others with reference to neuroticism (Ziarko et al, 2011).…”