Özlem GÜRKAN

St. Clements University/Clinical Psychology Master's Student/Turkey ORCID ID: 0009-0006-3459-5163

DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2025.v4i12n20

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ABSTRACT

Understanding the effects of various adverse events that individuals are likely to encounter throughout their lives on their psychological health in a more in-depth and comprehensive manner can be said to be of fundamental and critical importance for the general well-being of society. Trauma and stress are widely accepted as experiences that create unexpected and intense emotional burdens, and these elements occupy a very important position among the factors that test individuals' psychological resilience. These processes can challenge individuals' mental balance and inner strength, while also testing their adaptive abilities in a probing manner, which can sometimes lead to negative and destructive outcomes. As for the definition of trauma, it is generally accepted as events that pose a serious threat or harm to a person's life, while stress is a broad concept encompassing all psychological and biological responses to such events. Both phenomena play a major role by creating direct and indirect effects on individuals' quality of life and mental health. In this context, the concept of psychological resilience clearly summarises individuals' ability to cope, recover, and adapt to challenging and stressful situations. Advanced psychological resilience not only increases the capacity to resist negative experiences such as trauma and stress but also strengthens the ability to undergo healthier recovery processes.

KEYWORDS:

Trauma-stress connection, factors contributing to stress formation, emotional burdens, threatening events, quality of life and mental health, advanced psychological resilience, healthy recovery processes

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VOlUME 04 ISSUE 12 December 2025