Trust
When we trust someone we believe in their reliability. We accept what they say and do without question. The experience of trauma can distort our ability to trust others and, more importantly, our ability to trust ourselves.
Hope
When we want something to happen or we have the belief that something good can happen then we are experiencing hope. Hope has been defined as a positive state comprising success in having goal–directed energy as well as planning to meet goals. People who have experienced trauma may have periods of hopelessness.
Resilience
If we are described as ‘resilient’, then people regard us as having the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. We have an element of ‘toughness’ with regards to what we are able to overcome. Recent resilience literature emphasises a range of strategies for developing resilience. In the book ‘The Survivor Personality’, Dr Al Siebert reminds us that ‘life is not fair – and that can be for good for us’. He describes empathy as a survival skill and discusses ways to turn misfortune into luck, discusses the importance of resources such as intuition, creativity and imagination, and encourages us to manage our healing and transform surviving into thriving.
Most models for building resilience include the importance of caring for one’s self in a balanced way that includes physical exercise and activities that you find pleasurable. Maintaining connections with others, accepting the life reality of change, participating in new activities and maintaining positive and hopeful outlooks all assist in building our resilience to what life throws at us.
Insight
The characteristic of insightfulness indicates the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something. The person has an awareness that their mental experiences are not necessarily based on external realities.
Values and Virtues
Values are the principles or standards of behavior affecting one’s judgements about what is important in life. Virtues are qualities considered morally good or desirable in a person and their behavior can indicate a high (or low) moral standard.
Excite
Can cause strong feelings of enthusiasm and eagerness in someone and give rise to a reaction by producing a state of increased energy or activity within the physical or biological system.
Sustain
Strengthening or supporting physically or mentally, bearing the weight without breaking or falling, are ways to sustain ourselves or others.