Special Session 407

        
Jennifer Ayres, PhD

    
We are living an unprecedented time in history and we often find ourselves overwhelmed by incoming news about significant issues, such as natural disasters due to escalating climate change, a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, racial oppression and other forms of social injustice. As we take in this information, we form narratives about the events that swirl around us and the thoughts and feelings they evoke inside of us. During this keynote, the presenter will discuss how life lessons learned as she added the role of “fish keeper” to her identity list fostered new insights about (1) how to cope with uncertain times, (2) how our narratives about life events foster stability and social connectedness or instability and isolation, and (3) how to use self-reflective practices to explore our responses to life events.