Resilient people are those who "bounce back" quickly after negative or stressful events.  Positive emotions promote resiliency by returning the body to equilibrium after stressful situations; more resilient people tend to experience more positive emotions.  Interventions for resilience ought to emphasize self-efficacy and competence, as well as altering one's explanatory style and cultivating character strengths.

Resilience

Positive emotions expand people's attention, cognition, and behaviors, which leads to the buildup of physical, intellectual, and social resources that can promote resilience.

Grand Valley State University

These are feelings like happiness, contentment, or interest.  They can actually calm down autonomic arousal ("fight or flight" responses), signal safety, and prompt people to engage socially and with their physical environment.  

Positive Emotions

Kobau, R., Seligman, M., Peterson, C., Diener, E., Zack, M. M., Chapman, D., & Thompson, W. (2011, August). Mental Health Promotion in Public Health: Perspectives and Strategies From Positive Psychology. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), 1-9.

Mental Health Promotion in Public Health: Perspectives and Strategies
From Positive Psychology

The Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions

- Decreased risk of disease
- Improved immune system function
- Increased longevity
- Success at work and in social relationships

Benefits of Positive Emotions

The emotion of happiness is often seen as a beneficial positive emotion. However, heightened levels of happiness have been linked to several negative outcomes:

- Reduced creativity compared to moderate happiness levels.
- Increased propensity to overlook threats.
- Increased engagement in risk-taking behaviors, such as binge eating, alcohol consumption, and drug use.
- Higher likelihood of experiencing mood relapse over time.

Drawbacks of The Positive Emotion Happiness

-PET images of adult subjects asked to reexperience episodes of happiness showed increased activity in the right posterior cingulate cortex and left insula,  as well as decreased activity in the left anterior cingulate cortex.

The Happiness Pathway

Eudaimonic happiness refers to well-being that focuses on meaning, purpose, and self-realization (i.e., "I feel that life is very rewarding"). Hedonic happiness refers to well-being in terms of attaining pleasure and avoiding pain (i.e., "I often experience joy and elation"). A number of emotional outcomes of PPIs fall into both eudaimonic and hedonic categories. 

Eudaimonic vs. Hedonic Happiness 

- Nurturant Love
- Attachment Love
- Romantic Love
- Sympathy
- Tenderness
- Joy/Cheerfulness
- Excitement
- Enjoyment
- Engagement
- Euphoria
- Fascination
- Awe
- Hope
- Altruism
- Interest
- Amazement
- Admiration
- Affection
- Enthusiasm
- Eagerness
- Amusement
- Contentment
- Happiness
- Confidence
- Authentic Pride
- Hubristic Pride
- Surprise
- Inspiration
- Elevation
- Gratitude
- Relief 
- Calmness/Serenity/Peace/Tranquility

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