Second Wave Positive Psychology Positive psychology is currently equated with theory and research on the positive aspects of life. The reality could not be further from the truth. Positive psychology investigates and researches some of the most difficult and painful experiences. Second Wave Positive Psychology: Embracing the Dark Side of Life is an innovative and groundbreaking textbook that explores a variety of topics we consider to be part of the ‘dark side’ of life while emphasising their role in our positive functioning and trans- formation as human beings. This more nuanced approach to the notions of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ can be described as the ‘second wave’ of positive psychology. Positive psychology is one of the fastest-growing and least understood branches of psychology. Exploring topics at the heart of positive psychology, such as meaning, resilience, human develop- ment, mortality, change, suffering and spirituality, this book engages with so-called negative mat- ters from a positive psychology angle, showing how the path of personal development can involve experiences which, while challenging, can lead to growth, insight, healing and transformation. Containing useful resources, case studies, practical exercises and chapter summaries, Second Wave Positive Psychology is an essential guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying positive psychology, as well as clinicians wanting to know more about the subject. It will also be relevant to the layperson who is interested in positive psychology. Itai Ivtzan is a positive psychologist, a senior lecturer and the program leader of Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at the University of East London (UEL). His research areas are mind- fulness meditation, spirituality, and meaning in life. In addition to many journal papers and book chapters, he is the author of several books and the leading editor of Mindfulness in Positive Psychology: The Science of Meditation and Wellbeing. Tim Lomas is a lecturer at the UEL, where he is the associate programme leader for the MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology as well as having published numerous peer-reviewed papers and books. Kate Hefferon is a chartered psychologist, senior lecturer and the head of the Posttraumatic Growth Research Unit at the UEL. Her interests lie within the areas of posttraumatic growth (PTG), physical activity, health and wellbeing. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed papers and book chapters as well as lead author on popular positive psychology textbooks. Piers Worth is a chartered psychologist, accredited psychotherapist and head of Academic Depart- ment – Psychology for Bucks New University. Piers wrote and leads the Bucks MSc Applied Positive Psychology programme. ‘Second Wave Positive Psychology: Embracing the Dark Side of Life is not only about seeing the reality of positive psychology more clearly, it’s about seeing who we are as human beings more clearly. Positive psy- chology studies and embraces all the vicissitudes of life. And here is the book that outlines this for us.What is most incredible and impactful about this book? Is it that it represents the thought lead- ership and scholarship of four distinguished positive psychology luminaries? Is it that it is the first positive psychology book to deeply integrate the positive and negative of human experience across a wide array of topics? Is it that it’s a clear and interesting read, easily peaking the reader’s curiosity page after page? Is it that those who crack the book open will immediately make it required reading for their students? Or, is it that despite being a scholarly, scientific work the book is also eminently practical in its guidance for readers to reflect and explore that which is personal and meaningful? My answer is clear: All of the above.’ —Ryan M. Niemiec, PsyD, author of Mindfulness and Character Strengths: A Practical Guide to Flourishing, and Psychologist and Education Director, VIA Institute on Character ‘This timely book is a must read for anybody seriously interested in positive psychology. Rightly or wrongly, positive psychology has been often perceived as focusing only on the positive aspects of human life. However, as it reaches maturity, the discipline is increasingly moving in the direction of embracing human life as a whole from a positive, constructive perspective. For example, can we have something like ‘Positive Death’? These are issues that this courageous book is grappling with. Written by scholars who have an excellent knowledge and experience of positive psychology, this book may well become a landmark in the evolution of the field.’ —Nash Popovic, PhD, author of Personal Consultancy: A model for integrating counselling and coaching ‘In a climate where the span of positive psychology science so often is reduced to simplistic instructions just to smile, count your blessings, and look on the bright side of life, it is inspiring and exciting to see such a high-quality book guiding us through the most compelling and com- plex reaches of the field. This book engagingly demonstrates that positive psychology finds its true strength when it unifies happiness and positivity with the kinds of suffering, doubt, and adversity that are part and parcel with human life. It is written with a strong eye toward education, which is completely fitting because Second Wave Positive Psychology is written by scientists who are experts at teaching people how to apply research and theory to improve everyday life. Each chapter is an authoritative review of an important topic within positive psychology, from emotions and devel- opment to mortality and spirituality. It is a great recipe, blending quality science, insightful reflec- tions and exercises, and new perspectives on the universal human pursuits not just of a brighter smile, but of a richer, more authentic, and more meaningful life.’ —Michael Steger, PhD, Head of the Laboratory for the Study of Meaning and Quality of Life ‘The long awaited book on second wave positive psychology is finally here – clear evidence that positive psychology has entered a new stage of development. Gone are the smiley face and the exis- tential critique. At long last, positive psychology has openly embraced the dark side of life not only as an inevitable aspect of the human condition, but also an essential part in optimal functioning and transformation. The authors have skilfully provided a new narrative, buttressed by empirical evidence that engagement with the challenge and distress in life can contribute to our healing, growth and flourishing. I highly recommend this book to both the positive psychology commu- nity and all my friends in the humanistic-existential community.” —Paul T. P. Wong, PhD, editor of The Human Quest for Meaning Second Wave Positive Psychology Embracing the Dark Side of Life Itai Ivtzan, Tim Lomas, Kate Hefferon and Piers Worth First published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Itai Ivtzan, Tim Lomas, Kate Hefferon and Piers Worth The right of Itai Ivtzan, Tim Lomas, Kate Hefferon and Piers Worth to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocop- ying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested. ISBN: 978-1-138-81865-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-81866-8 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-74001-0 (ebk) Typeset in Frutiger and Joanna by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Introduction 1 1 The dialectics of emotion 5 2 Positive development – our journey of growth 31 3 The dark side of meaning in life 55 4 Adversity, resilience and transformational growth 75 5 Mortality and positive psychology 103 6 Wellbeings: Suffering, compassion and interconnectedness 134 7 Spirituality – transcending the self 153 8 The hero’s journey 175 Index 197 This page intentionally left blank Introduction Thank you for joining us for this adventure of Second Wave Positive Psychology: Embracing the Dark Side of Life. What is the first image that comes to our mind when positive psychology (PP) is mentioned? For most of us, it is the smiley emoticon. This symbol of happi- ness, optimism and joy reflects the way PP is commonly conceived and portrayed, both within the PP discipline and in society at large. In fact, PP is often equated with theory and research on the positive aspects of life. As such, whatever is labelled as ‘negative’ is frequently rejected and considered to be outside the sphere of PP. But this could not be further from the truth. PP actually investigates and researches some of the most difficult and painful human experiences. The present book explores a variety of topics that could be considered as part of the ‘dark side’ of life and emphasises the role they play in the positive aspects of our functioning and transformations as human beings. While doing this, cutting-edge theories, research, and practices are also introduced. The ‘dark side’ refers to challenging experiences, thoughts, emotions and behaviours which trigger discomfort in us. Such discomfort is frequently avoided as it carries an engagement with fear, pain, distress or confusion. However, engaging with the challenge and discomfort has great potential for growth, healing, insight and transformation. In other words, the ‘dark side’ contains the seed for a potential positive outcome, even when the path towards this outcome is testing. This book is a product of our collaborative work on the MSc in Applied Positive Psy- chology (MAPP) – delivered at the University of East London (UEL) and at Bucks New University. Dr Ivtzan, Dr Hefferon and Dr Lomas run the UEL programme, whereas Dr Worth runs the Bucks programme. The UEL programme is the largest PP postgraduate programme in Europe, with 100 new students every year. Bucks New University opened its programme a couple of years ago and now boasts more than 40 new students. This book is a product of our MAPP work, where we interact with brilliant students who, we believe, are the future of PP. Over the years, we have seen many students feeling uncom- fortable about the idea of sharing difficulty and pain in the framework of a PP course. Some of them even felt they were not able to join the weekends of teaching while they were experiencing difficulty in their lives as they felt they were being disingenuous or betraying the need for positivity. We all felt this issue should be cleared up, and this trig- gered the writing of this book. We wanted students and other people who are interested in this field to feel they were allowed to include the aspects of life we might call ‘negative’ 2 INTRODUCTION in their PP experience. Moreover, we wished to make it clear that these aspects of life were frequently necessary for the experience of growth and flourishing to be complete. To achieve this, we describe in this book the current state of affairs in the field of PP, with a view to dispel the myth of its ‘positivity’. People believe that PP deals only with the positive because they confuse experiences with outcomes. Indeed, the outcomes of PP theory and research are always positive in some way, and yet the paths, the journeys, what we experience on the way to these outcomes may be painful and challenging. PP must recognise and acknowledge this journey, and this is what this book aims to do. This misconception that first emerged within the field of PP has extended to other branches of psychology (clinical, educational, developmental, etc.) and to the general public. The erroneous impression is that discussing the negative is out of bounds in PP. We hope this book allows all concerned to re-conceptualise their view of PP and, hopefully, invite a larger audience to participate in the important ongoing discussions in the field. PP is one of the fastest-growing and least understood branches of psychology. By exploring various topics that are at the heart of PP, such as meaning, resilience, human development, mortality, change, suffering and spirituality, this book engages with so-called negative matters from the PP angle. Furthermore, this book clearly illustrates how these ‘negative’ experiences can have positive outcomes if we approach them in a certain way. A trauma, for example, may lead to anxiety and depression as well as, in coexistence, to growth and flourishing. Various topics and aspects of life exemplify the likelihood of such outcomes. What is the ‘second wave of PP’ that we are referring to? In its early years, the PP movement differentiated itself from ‘psychology as usual’ by strongly emphasising the ‘positive’ (thoughts, emotions, traits, etc.). Whereas psychology as usual was character- ised as focusing mainly on ‘negative’ mental states and experiences, PP would redress the balance by concentrating on ‘positive’ qualities and outcomes. Moreover, within this characterisation, there was the implicit message that ostensibly negative states and expe- riences were undesirable, and thus people should aim to avoid or eschew these, whereas ‘positive’ qualities and outcomes were necessarily beneficial and should be promoted and sought. However, over recent years, scholars within PP have begun to take a far more nuanced approach to the notions of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’. It has been recognised that seemingly positive qualities can be detrimental to wellbeing under certain circumstances. For example, as Seligman (1990) recognised, one must be careful not to be a ‘slave to the tyrannies of optimism’, but must be ‘able to use pessimism’s keen sense of reality when we need it’ (p. 292). Conversely, as this book summarises, the path of personal development can involve experiences which, while ostensibly challenging, can lead to growth and transformation. Back in 2004, Held (2004) suggested that this more nuanced approach to the notions of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ might be described as the ‘second wave’ of PP. Thinking along similar lines, Wong (2011) labelled these new developments in the field as PP ‘2.0’. We feel that this book reflects and represents these recent currents in the field, cap- turing a key dimension of this emergent second wave, namely an engagement with the ‘darker side’ of life. In giving this book its title, we must emphasise a number of important INTRODUCTION 3 points. Firstly, we are certainly not claiming that this book is creating this second wave; as we show throughout these pages, research that we are identifying as embodying or reflecting this second wave has been ongoing for years through the combined efforts of scholars worldwide. Secondly, we are not even taking credit for identifying or naming this emergent movement; this due goes to Held (2004), who first used the phrase, and also to Wong (2011), who more actively identified and explained the new movement. Finally, we are not implying that the content of this book exhausts or covers all the strands of this new wave; we are simply highlighting what we see as some important elements in this new wave of research and theory; readers may construe or appraise these developments in their own ways. Nevertheless, we do want to use the name ‘second wave’ to explicitly name and celebrate these recent developments in the field and to show some of the key ways in which the field is evolving as it matures and progresses as a discipline. The book will take you through a journey that focuses on aspects of life often regarded as negative and yet ones that could be conducive to our psychological wellbeing. Although we collectively thought of and believe in this book and its components, we independently undertook the creation and writing of two chapters about which we felt the most pas- sionate. Hence, each chapter is clearly linked to its associated writer. The first chapter of the book discusses the ‘Dialectics of Emotions’ (Dr Tim Lomas) and investigates the way the labels ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ are being used in the context of PP and how using these terms is not as straightforward as it might appear at first. The following chapter offers an overview of ‘Positive Development – Our Journey of Growth’ (Dr Piers Worth), investigat- ing the challenges of different stages in life and the way they can lead to positive change. Based on these different stages of development, the chapter ‘The Dark Side of Meaning in Life’ (Dr Itai Ivtzan) elaborates on the difficulties and joys that are part of what we experience as meaning and purpose in life. Next is ‘Adversity, Resilience and Transfor- mational Growth’ (Dr Kate Hefferon), which reviews our capacity to bounce back, stand strong and, in some cases, thrive after trauma and adversity. One of the most challenging human realisations, our mortality, is then discussed (‘Mortality and Positive Psychology’ by Dr Kate Hefferon), including ways in which our own mortality awareness can create an enhanced existence in the here and now. The chapter on ‘Well-Being: Suffering, Com- passion and Interconnectedness’ (Dr Tim Lomas) explores the way opening ourselves to suffering can generate compassion, which in turn can lead to positive changes in one’s sense of self. The chapter ‘Spirituality – Transcending the Self’ (Dr Itai Ivtzan) relates to the spiritual journey, focusing on self-awareness while recognising the pain and difficulty involved in taking this path. The book’s final chapter deals with ‘The Hero’s Journey’ (Dr Piers Worth), inviting us to face our personal challenges and the changes we undergo to fulfil our potential in full. In addition to theoretical discussions and research, the book also offers practical exer- cises to give the readers a chance to implement in person the ideas proposed. We believe that reading or talking about an idea is just the beginning of the way to truly understand- ing it. To be able to grasp the meaning of a certain topic, practical engagement with it is required. That is why each chapter offers you the opportunity to experiment with exer- cises that would deepen your personal experience of the topic. In addition, the chapters