Learned Hopefulness by Dan Tomasulo

Learned Hopefulness by Dan Tomasulo

Author:Dan Tomasulo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: positive psychology for depression;help for depression
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Published: 2020-05-08T20:21:56+00:00


It Is Possible to Underuse or Overuse Character Strengths

There is another side to character strengths that is important, and perhaps vital, to their understanding and use. Character strengths must be used in the right amount, with the proper sense of balance and calibration. If a violin string is too taut or too loose, we will be out of tune with what is needed for harmony. Too much or too little use of strengths tends to produce less than optimal results.

Take kindness as an example. If we are kind, this is typically a good thing. Helping someone when they are struggling to open a door or carry a package would be hard to see as wrong or bad. But as we saw in the story about Darlene, helping someone when they do not need or want it can be intrusive. The character strength of the mailwoman, Anne—her kindness—had become intrusive because she was overusing it. When it was used in a more calibrated way, it was like the violin string had been appropriately tuned, and harmony prevailed.

A groundbreaking study91 showed that character strengths’ underuse and overuse were related to negative outcomes, while optimal use was related to positive outcomes. More specifically, the overuse of social intelligence and humility, and the underuse of zest, humor, self-regulation, and social intelligence were associated with social anxiety, which is often a precursor for depression. This research gives some insight into how deciding to focus on strengths gives us more control over our depression and well-being than we might have thought we had. By identifying our strengths and using them in a calibrated and optimal way, we are simultaneously enhancing our positivity while avoiding an undesirable experience. It’s a happy balance we’re after. What I like most about this new approach to mental health is that it isn’t just descriptive—it is prescriptive, and adjustments can be made accordingly.

Do you have a tendency to overuse a character strength? Do you underuse a strength? If we don’t use our strengths in the right way, we’ll run into problems. Read through the list of strengths below92 and see if any of these are out of tune in one way or another. This will give you a road map to help you navigate the optimal use of your strengths.

Strengths

Underuse

Overuse



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