Resilience is the process of adapting well to stress. Being resilient doesn’t mean that you don’t experience any stress. Resilience represents your ability to bounce back after challenging experiences such as family and relationship problems, health issues, work-related problems, or financial challenges.
Our resilience is relative and depends upon a situation. For example, you may be resilient at school or work but not as resilient in your personal relationships. Resilience is not a fixed quality that some people have and some don’t, though. It involves thoughts, behaviors, and attitudes that can be learned.
According to Dr. Chris Johnstone, a medical doctor, author and trainer for resilience, SSRI (Strategies, Strengths, Resources, and Insights) can be used to explain that our actions we take and choices we make can have an anti-depressant effect, similarly to a group of antidepressants (the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) that letters SSRI are often associated with.
So, here are the strategies you can use, strengths you can draw upon, resources you can turn to, and useful insights you need for building resilience. Your resilience will grow when you develop these factors.
Strategies
Strategies involve practical things you do to maintain flexibility as you deal with stressful life events and circumstances. These may include asking friends and family for help, seeking counseling, practicing gratefulness, affirmations, and meditation or other relaxation techniques, etc.
Strengths
Strengths represent the inner qualities you draw upon to handle stress. Your inner strengths may include courage, flexibility, our sense of humor, emotional control, creativity, determination, assertiveness, etc. According to Dr. Johnstone, we can consciously develop these strengths by giving them our attention. Resilience is all about your mental flexibility and balance in life while you deal with challenging life transitions, events, or circumstances.
Resources
To boost resilience, we often need to turn to outside resources that make us feel safe, accepted, and supported. Studies have shown that caring and supportive relationships within and outside our families are a strong boost to our resilience. Resilience-improving resources may include anything from eating healthy and nutritious foods and finding places we feel safe to support from our friends, self-help books or support groups.
Stepping forward and seeking support, spending time with loved ones, nurturing yourself. In short, relying on others and also relying on yourself to gain support and encouragement can help develop resilience.
Insights
Insights include ideas, outlooks, or perspectives we find helpful. These may include positive affirmations, creative inspiration, letting go of our inner critic, changes in mindset, etc. Developing resilience is a personal experience, an approach to developing resilience for one person might not work for another. People use varying insights that affect their resilience differently.
A combination of SSRI factors contributes to resilience. Meaningful relationships within and outside the family, the capacity to make realistic plans and take steps to accomplish them, confidence in your own abilities, growth mindset, and healthy emotional control can help you grow and develop resilience.
If you’re seeking support in managing stress, improving your mindset, or advancing your career, consider exploring your options with Kamini Wood. Apply now for a free discovery session to start your journey.
