Protective factors
Protective factors are characteristics, relationships, resources or conditions that reduce the risk of problems and support health and resilience.
Definition
They can operate at the individual, family, community and environmental levels. Examples include supportive relationships, access to help, stable living conditions, coping skills, physical activity, and a sense of meaning. Protective factors do not make a person invulnerable, but they reduce susceptibility to overload and help to return to balance more quickly.
Key ideas
- Personal and social resources
- Reducing risk
- Immunity and regeneration
Practice and life
Make a list of five factors that actually protect you: people, rituals, places, skills and forms of support.
Common misconceptions
It is a mistake to think that one protective factor will do everything. A common mistake is to only notice resources when they are already lost.
> Protective factors do not make a person indestructible, but they help him regain balance.
> — Guru Element
Questions for self-reflection
- What actually protects me against overload?
- Which protective factor can I strengthen this month?
- Do I use support before there is a crisis?