A “nadir” is a low point. A nadir experience, therefore, is the opposite of a peak experience. Please think about your entire life. Try to remember a specific experience in which you felt extremely negative emotions, such as despair, disillusionment, terror, profound guilt, shame, etc. You should consider this experience to represent one of the “low points” in your life story. Even though this memory is unpleasant, we would still appreciate an attempt on your part to be honest and straightforward and to provide us with as much detail as possible. Please remember to be specific. We would like to know what happened, when it happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling, why the event is significant, and what the event says about you and your personality.

Include all of the following in your written description of the event:

• When did the event occur? (How old were you?)

• What exactly happened in the event?

• Who was involved in the event?

• What were you thinking, feeling, and wanting in the event?

• Why do you think that this is an important event in your life story?

• What does this event say about who you are, who you were, who you might be, and how you have developed over time?

Basically you will see what kinds of characters, scenes, and themes come up in your life story.

his week you will also:

• Look for 3 educational resources on the internet that will help you make sense of your nadir experience. Do some research online and find 3 resources that will help you understand your nadir experience. These 3 resources can be: a website, a news story, a video, a free Coursera course, a podcast episode, etc. The 3 resources you find should add to what you learned from this week’s chapter.
  

• Explain how these resources helped you:

  • understand why you do the things you do

  • understand what you need most from your education and career

  • learn to accept and celebrate yourself as you are

  • know exactly what you need from your relationships to feel accepted, understood, and fulfilled

  • discover what you desire, more than anything else, from your life

  • gain the ability to ask for what you want and need

  • get the ability to control your behavior the way you want and under any circumstance

  • learn what you want your life to add up to in the end

You are not trying to figure out if anything is wrong with you, and you are not trying to judge the “goodness” of your life. Instead, you want to decide whether educational resources from the internet related to psychology can help you make sense of the characters, scenes, and themes of your life story.