Within cancer patients I have chatted with many similar personality traits a bound. First is the ability to stay calm. Never running scare from their problem they also use that internal conflict to have better insight externally. Thereby, developing a profound outlook on life.
I have noticed most are well research also believe what they thought would work for themselves would work and didn’t deviate from that belief. While also never running into another eye of another tiger. When you hop scotch around treatment to treatment… they tell me it puts great strain on the body.
The Survivor Personality outlines some basic characteristics of a survivor: Adaptable, Resilient, Non-judgmental, Fighter and Non Victim Mentality.
Adaptable
The survivor personality is very chameleon-like in nature. They are the person that can debate both sides of an issue. They confuse most people because they display character traits that are opposite.
For example, if asked, “Are you a optimist and pessimist?” They may answer “Both, depending on the situation.”
Within the Good Child Syndrome where we’re taught to be nice, courtesy, listen to adults. We carry these attitudes into adulthood. The problem with the good child syndrome is in stressful, life-or-death situations, these attitudes can be detrimental to personal survival. In some situations, for example being mugged on the street, being a nice guy will not help you survive.
These attitudes are so ingrained in our personality that we have difficulty getting around them. They hold us back from turning it on and switch our attitude at that moment.
Resilient
The Survivor Personality is very resilient and bounces back quickly in the face of adversity. When bad things happen – they lose a business, a relationship fails, or get ill, they will jump right back into it and become a success.
Non-judgmental
They don’t cast judgment of something being right or wrong. Their views aren’t always black and white — right or wrong. They are likely to think that the situation is what it is.
This attitude is common for survivor types that are veterans of the military. This allows them to take action quickly without too much judgment (my father was World War II and survived cancer four times before it finally got him 14 years later.) They look more from the perspective of whether it’s or was effective.
Fighter
The Cancer patients or terminally ill patients that survived after given a diagnose that they had a couple months to live. The ones that survived tended to question and not accept the Doctor’s diagnosis.
They were the worst patients because they didn’t listen and believe everything the doctor said. They would request a second opinion, ask tons of questions, and were disagreeable. They just continued to challenge the diagnose to the end.
Non-Victim Mentality
The survivors never accept the role of the victim. You know the old saying, “When going through adversity, keep going.” They also don’t take on the poor-me attitude. Even in bad situations, they didn’t act like a victim. They do what they needed to make sure to turn the bad situation around.
Also listen to an interview with internationally renowned author Dr. Bernie Siegel of “Love, Medicine and Miracles”. He’ll talk about his new book, “Faith, Hope & Healing” that is about courageous men and women who have not only been cured of cancer, but have also found deeper faith, hope, joy and healing by coming to terms with their own mortality. It can help you to develop a survivor’s attitude and personality traits. You’ll find strategies that are useful in getting through difficult times. While also discovering the gifts – true gifts – that illness can bring into your life.