What is Resilience?
Resilience is our ability to manage physical, mental, and emotional health when we experience difficult situations. Resilience is like a muscle and can be strengthened over time. Building resilience can help you bounce back from hardships quicker and become more effective at dealing with them in the future. This can help you manage the negative feelings and emotions that come with difficult situations like stress and anxiety. Below are five tips to guide you towards a more resilient life.
- Negative feelings are temporary. While stressful moments and negative emotions are inevitable, so is time. All feelings are real and should be acknowledged and understood, but also know that they won’t last forever and you will feel better with time.
- Setbacks are normal. In life, it is almost impossible to have everything go perfectly the way you want it every single time. Setbacks and barriers are natural, and they are good for you. Setbacks allow you to reflect and problem-solve for future reference so if that setback may happen again, you’ll be ready and better equipped to handle it!
- Practice healthy coping techniques. When stressful situations occur, avoid negative outlets. Trying to escape emotions with substances or behaviors that harm the body will cause more problems in the long run. Instead of coping with alcohol, drugs, or even food, take care of your body and choose coping techniques that are not detrimental to your health. Getting some exercise is a great way to manage stress, along with deep breathing exercises, guided imagery, and mindfulness exercises.
- Prioritize healthy relationships. Build a supportive network of people you trust, who care about you, and make you want to be a better person. On a regular basis, make a point to connect with those people. Schedule a reminder in your calendar if you need to!
- Ask for help. If you are struggling to navigate a difficult situation on your own, ask for help. It’s ok! Talk to someone you trust or ask your doctor about resources.
Written by: Coach Evan