Resilience is one of those words we hear from time to time
yet still come off as being foreign. Sometimes I think it is a concept that is
better experienced than explained. All we know about resilience may not make
sense in the hit of the moment but it helps to have an idea anyway. There has
been an argument about resilience being an inborn trait or a developed
character strength.
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. Research has shown that resilience is ordinary, not extraordinary.
People commonly demonstrate resilience.
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.
Resilient people do not let adversity define them. They find
resilience by moving towards a goal beyond themselves, transcending pain and
grief by perceiving bad times as a temporary state of affairs. Resilient people
don't walk between the raindrops; they have scars to show for their experience.
They struggle—but keep functioning anyway. Resilience is not the ability to
escape unharmed. It is not about magic.
Sometimes it is easier to be a victim; talking about how
other people make you do what you do removes the obligation to change. And
sympathy can feel sweet; talk of resilience can make some feel that no one is
really appreciating exactly how much they have suffered. To the degree that it
is learned, resilience seems to develop out of the challenge to maintain
self-esteem. Resilience is the capacity for a person to maintain self-esteem
despite the powerful influence of negative influences. What the resilient do is
refrain from blaming themselves for what has gone wrong. And they internalize
success; they take responsibility for what goes right in their lives.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment