Internal and external
stressors are ever-present and one’s ability to cope
with these events is influenced by both successful and
unsuccessful adaptations to previous disruptions. In
some situations, such adaptations, or protective factors, are ineffective, resulting in disruption of the
biopsychospiritual homeostasis. In time, response to this
disruption is a reintegrative process, leading to one of
four outcomes: (0) the disruption represents an oppor
tunity for growth and increased resilience, whereby
adaptation to the disruption leads to a new, higher level
of homeostasis; (0) a return to baseline homeostasis, in
an effort to just get past or beyond the disruption; (0)
recovery with loss, establishing a lower level of home
ostasis; or 0) a dysfunctional state in which maladaptive
strategies (e.g., self-destructive behaviors) are used to
cope with stressors. Resilience may thus also be viewed
as measure of successful stress-coping ability.