The Mental Health Minute - September Edition

Building Resilience

Resilience is a term that’s been gaining popularity in recent years, but it is more than just a buzzword. Resilience is the ability to cope with unexpected changes and challenges in your life. It is not always possible to avoid or prevent stressful situations, but you can strengthen your ability to deal with these challenges. Resilience is the capacity to bounce back from difficult situations, adapt to change and grow stronger in the face of adversity. 

It is not necessarily something we are born with, but it can be nurtured and cultivated over time. Factors like self-esteem, optimism, and coping skills are essential to building resilience. Whether you are going through a tough time now or want to cope with stress more effectively, here are some tips.

Finding a sense of purpose can help you to persevere in life’s challenges. This could be a social movement, volunteering or advocating for an important cause or learning a new skill or hobby.

Cultivate a network of supportive people that you can confide in. While friends can’t magically solve your problems, their presence, support and collaborative problem-solving can make a world of difference during challenging times.

Becoming more confident in your own abilities to deal with a crisis is a great way to build resilience for the future. Listen for negative comments in your head, when you hear them, try replacing them with positive ones such as “I can do this,” or “I am good at my job.”

Facing problems head-on and developing strategies to address them can boost your resilience. Taking action, no matter how small, can alleviate stress and uncertainty. Taking charge of the things you can control through problem-solving, goal-setting or asking for help, can be a great way to boost resilience.

Flexibility can increase resilience, learning how to be more adaptive and embracing change can help when faced with a crisis. Resilient people often use change as an opportunity to branch out in new directions. This doesn’t mean that change isn’t hard, but accepting the things you can’t control can help you to get back on the road to recovery faster.

Nurture yourself; if you are stressed it can be all too easy to neglect your own needs. Taking care of your physical and emotional well-being is essential. Small acts, such as maintaining a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and engaging in enjoyable activities can be great self-nurturing skills.

Resilience may take time to build, so don’t get discouraged if you struggle to cope with problematic events. You can’t always be 100% resilient, so it is important to practice self-compassion and be kind to yourself while you are learning new skills. By practising these skills, you will be able to increase your resilience and build your confidence in managing difficult situations.

The information provided is from Better Together Community Support. This advice may not suit your personal situation and therefore cannot substitute real Psychological advice please consult a professional if this has raised issues for you.

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