The Road to Resilience
American
Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx
How do people deal with difficult events that
change their lives? The death of a loved one, loss of a job, serious illness,
terrorist attacks and other traumatic events:
these are all examples of very challenging life experiences. Many people react
to such circumstances with a flood of strong emotions and a sense of
uncertainty.
Yet people generally adapt well over time to
life-changing situations and stressful conditions. What enables them to do so?
It involves resilience, an ongoing process that requires time and effort and
engages people in taking a number of steps.
This brochure is intended to help readers
with taking their own road to resilience. The information within describes
resilience and some factors that affect how people deal with hardship. Much of
the brochure focuses on developing and using a personal strategy for enhancing
resilience.
What is resilience?
Research has shown that resilience is
ordinary, not extraordinary. People commonly demonstrate resilience. One
example is the response of many Americans to the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks and individuals' efforts to rebuild their lives.
Being resilient does not mean that a person
doesn't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are
common in people who have suffered major adversity or trauma in their lives. In
fact, the road to resilience is likely to involve considerable emotional
distress.
Resilience is not a trait that people either
have or do not have. It involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be
learned and developed in anyone.
Factors in Resilience
A combination of factors contributes to
resilience. Many studies show that the primary factor in resilience is having
caring and supportive relationships within and outside the family.
Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models and offer
encouragement and reassurance help bolster a person's resilience.
Several additional factors are associated
with resilience, including:
- The capacity to make realistic plans and
take steps to carry them out.
- A positive view of yourself and confidence
in your strengths and abilities.
- Skills in communication and problem solving.
- The capacity to manage strong feelings and
impulses.
All of these are factors that people can
develop in themselves.
Strategies For Building Resilience
Developing resilience is a personal journey.
People do not all react the same to traumatic and stressful life events. An
approach to building resilience that works for one person might not work for
another. People use varying strategies.
Some variation may reflect cultural
differences. A person's culture might have an impact on how he or she
communicates feelings and deals with adversity — for example, whether and how a
person connects with significant others, including extended family members and
community resources. With growing cultural diversity, the public has greater
access to a number of different approaches to building resilience.
Some or many of the ways to build resilience
in the following pages may be appropriate to consider in developing your
personal strategy.
10 ways to build
resilience
Make connections. Good relationships with close family members, friends or others are
important. Accepting help and support from those who care about you and will
listen to you strengthens resilience. Some people find that being active in
civic groups, faith-based organizations, or other local groups provides social
support and can help with reclaiming hope. Assisting others in their time of
need also can benefit the helper.
Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable
problems. You can't change the fact that
highly stressful events happen, but you can change how you interpret and
respond to these events. Try looking beyond the present to how future
circumstances may be a little better. Note any subtle ways in which you might
already feel somewhat better as you deal with difficult situations.
Accept that change is a part of
living. Certain goals may no longer be attainable as
a result of adverse situations. Accepting circumstances that cannot be changed
can help you focus on circumstances that you can alter.
Move toward your goals. Develop some realistic goals. Do something regularly — even if it seems
like a small accomplishment — that enables you to move toward your goals.
Instead of focusing on tasks that seem unachievable, ask yourself, "What's
one thing I know I can accomplish today that helps me move in the direction I
want to go?"
Take decisive actions. Act on adverse situations as much as you can. Take decisive actions,
rather than detaching completely from problems and stresses and wishing they
would just go away.
Look for opportunities for
self-discovery. People often learn
something about themselves and may find that they have grown in some respect as
a result of their struggle with loss. Many people who have experienced
tragedies and hardship have reported better relationships, greater sense of
strength even while feeling vulnerable, increased sense of self-worth, a more
developed spirituality and heightened appreciation for life.
Nurture a positive view of yourself. Developing confidence in your ability to solve problems and trusting your
instincts helps build resilience.
Keep things in perspective. Even when facing very painful events, try to consider the stressful
situation in a broader context and keep a long-term perspective. Avoid blowing
the event out of proportion.
Maintain a hopeful outlook. An optimistic outlook enables you to expect that good things will happen
in your life. Try visualizing what you want, rather than worrying about what
you fear.
Take care of yourself. Pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Engage in activities that
you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly. Taking care of yourself helps
to keep your mind and body primed to deal with situations that require
resilience.
Additional ways of strengthening
resilience may be helpful. For example, some people
write about their deepest thoughts and feelings related to trauma or other
stressful events in their life. Meditation and spiritual practices help some
people build connections and restore hope.
The key is to identify ways that are likely
to work well for you as part of your own personal strategy for fostering
resilience.
Learning from your past
Focusing on past
experiences and sources of personal strength can help you learn about what
strategies for building resilience might work for you. By exploring answers to
the following questions about yourself and your reactions to challenging life
events, you may discover how you can respond effectively to difficult
situations in your life.
Consider the following:
- What kinds of events have been most
stressful for me?
- How have those events typically affected me?
- Have I found it helpful to think of
important people in my life when I am distressed?
- To whom have I reached out for support in
working through a traumatic or stressful experience?
- What have I learned about myself and my
interactions with others during difficult times?
- Has it been helpful for me to assist someone
else going through a similar experience?
- Have I been able to overcome obstacles, and
if so, how?
- What has helped make me feel more hopeful
about the future?
Staying flexible
Resilience involves maintaining flexibility
and balance in your life as you deal with stressful circumstances and traumatic
events. This happens in several ways, including:
- Letting yourself experience strong emotions,
and also realizing when you may need to avoid experiencing them at times
in order to continue functioning.
- Stepping forward and taking action to deal
with your problems and meet the demands of daily living, and also stepping
back to rest and reenergize yourself.
- Spending time with loved ones to gain
support and encouragement, and also nurturing yourself.
- Relying on others, and also relying on
yourself.
Places to look for help
Getting help when you need it is crucial in
building your resilience. Beyond caring family members and friends, people
often find it helpful to turn to:
- Self-help and support groups. Such community groups can aid people struggling with hardships such
as the death of a loved one. By sharing information, ideas and emotions,
group participants can assist one another and find comfort in knowing that
they are not alone in experiencing difficulty.
- Books and other publications by people who have successfully managed adverse situations such as
surviving cancer. These stories can motivate readers to find a strategy
that might work for them personally.
- Online resources. Information on the web can be a helpful source of ideas, though the
quality of information varies among sources.
For many people, using their own resources
and the kinds of help listed above may be sufficient for building resilience.
At times, however, an individual might get stuck or have difficulty making
progress on the road to resilience.
- A licensed mental health
professional such as a psychologist can assist people in developing an
appropriate strategy
for moving forward. It is important to get professional help if you feel like you
are unable to function or perform basic activities of daily living as a
result of a traumatic or other stressful life experience.
Different people tend to be comfortable with
somewhat different styles of interaction. A person should feel at ease and have
good rapport in working with a mental health professional or participating in a
support group.
Continuing on your journey
To help summarize several of the main points
in this brochure, think of resilience as similar to taking a raft trip down a
river.
On a river, you may encounter rapids, turns,
slow water and shallows. As in life, the changes you experience affect you
differently along the way.
In traveling the river, it helps to have
knowledge about it and past experience in dealing with it. Your journey should
be guided by a plan, a strategy that you consider likely to work well for you.
Perseverance and trust in your ability to
work your way around boulders and other obstacles are important. You can gain
courage and insight by successfully navigating your way through white water.
Trusted companions who accompany you on the
journey can be especially helpful for dealing with rapids, upstream currents
and other difficult stretches of the river.
You can climb out to rest alongside the
river. But to get to the end of your journey, you need to get back in the raft
and continue.
Information contained in this brochure should
not be used as a substitute for professional health and mental health care or
consultation. Individuals who believe they may need or benefit from care should
consult a
psychologist or other licensed health/mental health professional.
Acknowledgments:
APA gratefully acknowledges the following
contributors to this publication:
- Lillian Comas-Diaz, PhD, Director, Transcultural Mental Health Institute, Washington, D.C.
- Suniya S. Luthar, PhD, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, N.Y.
- Salvatore R. Maddi, PhD, The Hardiness Institute, Inc., University of California at Irvine, Newport Beach, Calif.
- H. Katherine (Kit) O'Neill, PhD, North Dakota State University and Knowlton, O'Neill and Associates, Fargo, N.D.
- Karen W. Saakvitne, PhD, Traumatic Stress Institute/Center for Adult & Adolescent Psychotherapy, South Windsor, Conn.
- Richard Glenn Tedeschi, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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