Van Tongeren Daryl R, Showalter Van Tongeren Sara A
Department of Psychology, Hope College, Holland, MI, United States.
Private Practice, Holland, MI, United States.
Front Psychol. 2021 Mar 10;12:641747. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.641747. eCollection 2021.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has created a crisis of suffering. We conceptualize suffering as a deeply existential issue that fundamentally changes people indelible ways and for which there are no easy solutions. To better understand its effects and how people can flourish in the midst of this crisis, we formally introduce and elaborate on an Existential Positive Psychology Model of Suffering (EPPMS) and apply that to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our model has three core propositions: (a) suffering reveals existential concerns, (b) existential anxiety impairs one's ability to find meaning, and (c) cultivating meaning is the primary way to address suffering and allay existential anxiety, eventually leading to flourishing (and potentially growth). We apply this model to the COVID-19 pandemic, including how to build meaning, and discuss clinical implications.
全球新冠疫情引发了一场苦难危机。我们将苦难概念化为一个深刻的生存问题,它从根本上以不可磨灭的方式改变着人们,且没有简单的解决办法。为了更好地理解其影响以及人们如何在这场危机中蓬勃发展,我们正式引入并详细阐述了一种苦难的存在主义积极心理学模型(EPPMS),并将其应用于新冠疫情全球大流行。我们的模型有三个核心命题:(a)苦难揭示了存在主义关切;(b)存在主义焦虑损害了一个人寻找意义的能力;(c)培养意义是应对苦难和缓解存在主义焦虑的主要方式,最终导致蓬勃发展(并可能实现成长)。我们将此模型应用于新冠疫情,包括如何构建意义,并讨论其临床意义。