Building Resilience - Dr. Sangeetha Madhu and Ms. Sanjhna Shetty

  

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines resilience as ‘the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress’, as ‘bouncing back’ from a negative experience.Every one of us has an inherent capacity of being resilient. While some of us may be more resilient than others, it is not an all or nothing quality; it can be developed over a period of time.

1. Psychological Resilience - the ability to mentally withstand or adapt to uncertainty, challenges, and adversity
2. Emotional Resilience – the ability to understand our emotions which enables us to take necessary steps to manage stress in a positive manner
3. Physical Resilience – the ability of the body to adapt to change. It includes the ability to maintain stamina and recover quickly and efficiently
4. Community Resilience - the ability of groups of people to respond to and recover from adverse situations, such as natural disasters, acts of violence, economic hardship, and other challenges to their community.

Building resilience-

According to the APA, factors such as

·        Making realistic plans; carrying them out

·        Having confidence in our strengths and abilities

·        Communication, problem solving skills

·        Managing feelings

contribute to and act as markers of resilience. Resilience can be built by –

1.      Building Connections – surrounding ourselves with empathetic, understanding people who validate our feelings helps in times of crisis.

2.      Fostering Wellness – ‘self-care’ helps deal with the physiological aspects of stress, thus allowing space for resilience. Yoga, mindfulness meditation and spiritual practices also prove to be helpful.

3.      Finding Purpose – developing realistic goals and systematically achieving them, helping others, being proactive can help us muster motivation and purpose even during stressful periods of time.

4.      Embrace Healthy Thoughts – changing the narrative of the situation to focus more on the positives empowers us to expect that good things will happen to us, thus motivating us work towards achieving those positive outcomes.

 

Resilience, or the capability to ‘bounce back’ from any kind of adverse situation is an inherent quality, it can be honed and sharpened to serve us better in times of crisis.

 

 

References

Ackerman, C. E. (2021, February 22). What is resilience and why is it important to bounce back?Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-resilience/

American Psychological Association. (2012). Building your resilience. https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience#

Cherry, K. (2021, April 24). What is resilience? Verywellmind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-resilience-2795059#how-to-build-resilience

Hurley, K. (2020, December 10). What is resilience? Your guide to facing life’s challenges, adversities, and crises. Everyday Health. https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/resilience/