Experience of domestic violence survivor women in searching their life purpose and self-resilience

Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) often experience several psychological disorders, such as anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression, driving them to a point where they lose their life purpose. Resilience implies the ability of victimized women to adapt to their stressful situations or recover by regaining the balance among their physiological, psychological, and social aspects of life. Those who attain self-resilience are called survivors-a phenomenon that has been scarcely investigated regarding the discovery of life purpose and self-resilience of women who are survivors of IPV in Central Java. Thus, this study aims to gain insight into the experience of IPV survivors in discovering their life purpose and self-resilience. We conducted qualitative research on six IPV survivors and determined four themes-self-reliance and bravery marking the beginning of life recovery, support from the closest person who provides strength, coping strategies used for the survival, and learning from experience to reinforce future goals. This study recommends mental health nurses to act as counselors for IPV survivors to support them in their recovery phase to enhance the mental health of patients.