A practical program rooted in optimism to help you live fully and joyfully in an imperfect, turbulent world.
As the first medical director and attending psychiatrist at the World Trade Center Mental Health Program, Dr. Sue Varma worked directly with civilian and first-responder survivors in the aftermath of 9/11. There, she met people at every point of the stress and trauma continuum. She saw devastation and stagnancy as much as she saw amazing resilience and growth. It reminded Dr. Varma of her father, who grew up in a poor family in India, but only felt nostalgic fondness and appreciation for his childhood. It sparked the questions: how do some people survive, even thrive, despite profound challenges? And how can we optimize the things we have control over, while buffering ourselves from stress?
Through her work with patients, a review of the latest research in psychology and neuroscience, as well as her own personal experience, Dr. Varma discovered that the answer lies in cultivating an optimistic mindset that stays tethered to the real world and helps us make sound and reasonable decisions. This epiphany inspired Practical Optimism, Dr. Varma's powerful program with eight pillars to help all of us experience a sense of meaning, mastery, and self-acceptance and create lives filled with joy and purpose. Optimists, research has shown, are not just happier and more successful, but physically healthier. And if you're a natural-born pessimist? No problem: the most vital piece of the Practical Optimism program is that it is a practice, a skillset that we can choose to adopt and get better at every day.
This book isn't about magical thinking. Practical optimists are resourceful, realistic, and thoughtful problem solvers who possess something of rare value: the inner resources to thrive in a difficult world. Complete with self-assessment quizzes and exercises, Practical Optimism will help us all see the world for the better and flourish.
