Hi, it’s David on the blog today. Life can throw a lot our way, and a strong sense of resilience can be incredibly helpful when we need to overcome adversity and bounce back from challenges, while still taking care of ourselves.

What is Resilience?

Resilience is our ability to be adaptable and bounce back from adversity, stress or other challenges. Despite life’s difficulties, when we are resilient, we are able to maintain our mental and physical well-being through managing our emotions effectively and navigating obstacles with thoughtful reason. When we can do this, we are often able to emerge on the other side of hardships with a sense of confidence and strength while also walking away with new insights.

Key Areas of Resilience

1. Emotional Regulation: Understanding and managing emotions healthily to prevent becoming too overwhelmed.
2. Positive Outlook: Staying hopeful and focusing on the positive aspects of situations, even during difficulties.
3. Problem-Solving Skills: Identifying and resolving challenges effectively through analysis and thoughtful decision-making.
4. Social Support: Building strong relationships for emotional encouragement and practical help, creating a supportive safety net.
5. Flexibility: Adapting to change and being open to new solutions, which helps us handle difficulties more easily.

Ways to Build Resilience

1. Self-Awareness – we can increase our self-awareness by paying attention to our emotions and how we feel. Journalling or reflecting on the feelings after the fact can be helpful in building our awareness.
2. Mindfulness – practicing mindfulness when we aren’t having strong emotions can build these skills for those harder times. Meditation, box breathing (count to 5 for each of breathing in, holding your breath, and exhaling), or progressive muscle relaxation (tensing muscle groups and relaxing them, starting in your feet and progressing to the face muscles) are several techniques that can help increase mindfulness.
3. Label Emotions – using accurate words to describe how we feel is often more difficult than we would think. Practice noticing how you feel and labelling the emotion.
4. Develop Coping Strategies – we can expect to encounter challenges. In preparation, we can develop strategies we can use in those moments. It can be a list such as exercise, drawing or painting, or calling to talk to a friend.
5. Setting Healthy Boundaries – prioritizing our well being by saying no or declining requests that don’t serve our interests can help save our energy, protect our emotional space, and help us become more assertive and confident.

In summary, resilience is the capacity to endure and overcome hardship, but it is also focused on growth, recovery, and preparedness for future adversity. With practice and support, our resilience can be developed and strengthened.

For help with building resilience, please feel free to reach out to Dóchas at 780-446-0300 or info@dochaspsych.com. Book an in-person (Spruce Grove) or virtual (across Alberta) appointment with one of our therapists here.

About Dóchas Psychological

Dóchas Psychological Services is a well-established and trusted therapy clinic located in Spruce Grove, Alberta. At Dóchas we value the idea that everyone deserves a safe space. Through connection and education, our team works hard to build a trustworthy relationship with each of our clients. It is our goal to create a community for our clients to feel like they belong.

Disclaimer

Information provided through Dóchas Psychological Services blogs or vlogs is meant for educational purposes only. They are NOT medical or mental health advice. You can read more about our disclaimer here.