Open AccessThe Traumatic Life Experiences and Ontological Well-Being: Insights from Narrative Psychology and Self-Memory Theory
Author(s) -
Seçil Bülbül,
AUTHOR_ID,
Serin İşiaçık,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
lumen proceedings
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
eISSN - 2601-2529
pISSN - 2601-2510
DOI - 10.18662/wlc2021/11
Subject(s) - narrative , psychology , perspective (graphical) , traumatic memories , mental health , well being , autobiographical memory , narrative psychology , psychology of self , perception , positive psychology , social psychology , narrative inquiry , cognitive psychology , psychotherapist , computer science , narrative criticism , philosophy , linguistics , artificial intelligence , neuroscience , recall
Ontological well-being adopts a holistic perspective on well-being similar to the narrative psychology when analyzing life histories by referring to past, present, and future aspects of one's life. Relatedly, the self-memory view proposes that life events are self-evaluated. Based on the narrative psychology and self-memory approach, affective life events and emotions are processed in the memory and play a role in structuring self-perceptions and psychological well-being. Therefore, turbulent external conditions such as the pandemic, uncertain environments and socio-economic challenges may lead to traumatic experiences for individuals. Being exposed to traumatic events and experiencing post-traumatic stress harms mental health, well-being, and work performance. This study aims to examine the relationship between traumatic life experiences and ontological well-being within the period of COVID 19 pandemic. It is intended to reveal the impact of traumatic experiences on ontological well-being of individuals in work life. A cross-sectional study was utilized throughout an online survey with the participation of 270 employees working in various private organizations. Following the statistical analyses, the findings were evaluated and both conceptual and practical discussions were provided.