Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Do I need to change my situation or do I need to find a way to better cope with the situation?” While in the long run it pays to dig deeper and search for meaning, in the short run, emotion-focused and problem-focused coping might have their advantages, and their effectiveness depends on whether we canContinue reading “Emotion-focused vs. Problem-focused”

Polyvagal theory states that we have three ways of functioning, linked to our autonomic nervous system. The first and ‘least elaborate’ one is the dorsal vagal (freeze), then comes the sympathetic (fight or flight) and finally the ventral vagal (social engagement).  This is an interesting theory, that we will come back to in the future,Continue reading “Polyvagal theory and coping”

Welcome to ‘Torches‘, a month dedicated to undestand coping in its many forms. Let’s start with definitions. To cope is to deal effectively with something difficult. Sounds a lot like resilience, but while resilience is the ability to “recover quickly”, to “bounce back”, almost being untouched by the circumstances, coping implies a process of managingContinue reading “Coping”

Today, 21st of December, is the shortest day of the year. For me, it’s always been a day of relief, especially since moving to the Netherlands, where the difference between winter and summer is measurable in hours of sun and it is so much more consistently than it is in Italy. It’s the day thatContinue reading “Happy shortest day of the year”

December is an existential month, especially in a year like this.⁣ A recap of the process we have, willingly or not, been the protagonists of for the past 12 months.⁣ For me, looking back at this past year means coming to terms with the bulky presence of the body, enhanced by forced distances, reflection onContinue reading “Us between freedom and fate”

According to the American Psychological Association (2017) there are many ways to increase our resilience. ⁣1. It’s important to actively foster a sense of self-efficacy (remind yourself of what you are able to accomplish, be helpful to others, make small daily steps to reach your goals).⁣2. Optimism can really help when in a realistic form,Continue reading “8 steps to resilience (by APA)”

Our brain is a complex machine, an incredibly smart one that tries to maximise our quality of life, by making us more adaptive, learning from our mistakes and mastering the skills we use the most.⁣⁣‘Plasticity’ refers to the ability of transforming itself according to needs, whether they are ours or our environment’s. Our brain isContinue reading “Plastic Brain”

Resilience vs. Recovery ⁣⁣We can all agree that dip might look scary, when compared to an amazingly unaffected straight line. ⁣When experiencing – or even expecting – a trauma, or a struggle of any kind and degree, we can feel as if losing our own grip on reality. We can face apathy, despair, a detachmentContinue reading “Resilience vs. Recovery”

According to a study from Lopez and Snyder (2009) our ability to be resilient derives from a good parenting style: the authoritative one, characterised by “qualities of warmth and affection that also provide structure and support to the child”. So, as often happens, a good attachment – and good relationships in general – seems toContinue reading “Resilience: multi-dimensional”