Have you been feeling overworked or overwhelmed for a while?
Are you struggling with life’s daily stresses?
Does even the smallest thing send you into a spin?
You are not alone! An estimated 450 million people suffer from stress and poor mental wellbeing every day! But for some people it’s harder to bounce back from stressful situations than it is for others. Why is that? Why are some people more resilient than others? And what is resilience?
According to the American Psychological Association – Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress— such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors.
It means “bouncing back” from difficult experiences.
Doing the prep and research for a workshop I’m doing on ‘Strengthening Resilience’ for the ‘A List London’ later this month really got me exploring why some people are more resilient than others.
According to the World Health Organization Resilience report in 2017 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:
Developing resilience is a personal journey. People don’t all react the same way 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 to cope.
Personally, I haven’t always been resilient. I’ve built up my resilience over the years. Take burnout or a family problem for instance. For years I would struggle to let go or beat myself up if there was any conflict at all. Now I practise my own meditation on letting go and I’m able to easily step back. These days I allow myself to ‘feel’ and to express emotions. I book out some time for myself and do what I feel I need to do to let out the emotions and learn.
What about you?
Here are a few tips on how to strengthen your resilience.
Learn from a previous situation
People often learn something about themselves and may find that they have grown in some respect as a result of their struggle with loss. People who have experienced tragedies and hardship have often reported better relationships, a greater sense of strength even while feeling vulnerable, increased sense of self-worth, a more developed spirituality and heightened appreciation for life.
Accept things as they are
Certain goals may no longer be attainable as a result of adverse situations. Accepting circumstances that cannot be changed can help you focus on those that you can change.
Allow yourself to ‘grieve’
Book some time out for yourself to ‘feel’ your emotions. When faced with adversity many people shut down or continue on without allowing themselves to ‘feel’ what they are going through
Take small positive steps to move on and move forward
Being consistent is key here. There will be good days and bad days but taking small steps every day will help you make significant changes.
Wishing you best of luck!!
If you would like to find out more about strengthening resilience or how to beat burnout check out this online training here: www.softersuccess.com
Source: American Psychological Association & World Health Organization Resilience Report 2017