h also illustrated difficulties for a young woman with learning difficulties to find her way in life. Rebecca found joy in being with her boyfriend she recently met and taking care of her dogs.

\"Rebecca was a 24 year old single woman with Swedish background. She described her teenage years as "bad years" in her life. She did "not feel well, did not bother what happened", and drank alcohol almost daily (aged 13 to 17). She had difficulty to understand and follow the teaching in school; especially maths, and got no help with her learning difficulties. She described that during her teenage years her problems with panic attacks had got worse. Only when she was 17 years old did the school teachers take action on her behavior. Her parents were shocked. She dropped out of school and got treatment for her panic attacks.\"

\"She left home at the age of 18 when she succeeded to find a flat. "I decided that I have to take responsibility". Since then she had received social assistance. Rebecca perceived that she received good help for her problems with panic attacks. Social services decided to step by step increase their demands concerning her participation in the labour market activities that they offered her. For her it was most important to become stronger, overcome her sense of vulnerability. She found peace and joy in her dogs, walking them and taking care of them. Her dream was to move to the countryside with her boyfriend, to get "a new start" in her life.\"

Like Rebecca, all interviewees identified "assets" in their lives, such as children (Anna), inner strength (Anna and Sonja), or positive experiences from professionals (Sonja and Samir), which gave them strength, provided meaning in their life, and helped them to keep going and function despite the adversity they experienced. Some interviewees had more faith in their capacity than others, believing that "*it is somehow going to be all right*", seeing the world as manageable and comprehensible despite obstacles. Others had previous negative experiences and 