Figure 1: Impact of Psychological Resilience on Wound Healing in the Bereaved. Bereavement leads to poor health outcome (e.g., delay in wound healing) via chronic activation of the HPA axis and the resulting dysregulation in cortisol secretion. Psychological resilience is conceptualized as the key factor modulating this pathogenic pathway by (1) mitigating the negative impact of bereavement on activity of the HPA axis and (2) contributing to maintenance of a normal healthy diurnal rhythm of cortisol.