Sense of Coherence

...or Salutogenesis is a concept or actually a theory of health and illness by Aaron Antonovsky. It explains how some people are more protected agains stress factors in their daily life due to the "sense of coherence" they have about Life and its challenges.

The sense of coherence has three components;
Comprehensibility: Does things make sense? Do I understand what's happening? Can I say what will come next?
Manageability: Can I manage? Have I got the support and "tools" to cope with what's happening?
Meaningfulness: It there a point? A purpose? A good reason? Are things in Life interesting? Worth caring about?

According the Antonovsky, meaningfulness is the most important factor. If there is no sense of meaning one will not have the motivation to make sense of things and/or to manage them...

And my point for this post?! (if there need to be one... ;)) :D Well, I've heard/read about salutogenesis before as a stress coping tool and/or a way to find balance in one's life... The other day at a lecture about learning the lecturer used this theory as a key part of making studies/studying meaningfull. If a child/person doesn't understand why/what/what for he/she learning something then he/she becomes a observer rather than a participant in school, and in the bigger scheme... Life.

I got a light bulb-moment out of this world!! :D OF COURSE! It makes perfect sense to use salutogenesis in the learning field too...! :) And I believe that a sense of coherense can be applicable to any and all aspects of life...so if you're still with me (bless you!) ;) That is my point...!



"Beyond the specific stress factors that one might encounter in life, and beyond your perception and response to those events, what determines whether stress will cause you harm is whether or not the stress violates your sense of coherence."
- Aaron Antonovsky