Counseling Center: Building Resilience

There following are several factors that comprise resilience:

• The capacity to manage strong feelings and impulses
• Skills in communication and problem solving
• 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
• Having a variety of caring & supportive relationships that involve trust, encouragement and reassurance

10 Ways to Build Resilience

1. Make connections. Good relationships with close family and friends strengthen resilience by providing acceptance, support, and empathy. Being active in organizations, clubs, etc. provides social support, gives a sense of purpose, and hope.
2. Avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems. Highly stressful events happen. You can't change that. You can change how you interpret and respond to these events. Look beyond the present to see how future may be better. Highlight the subtle ways you deal effectively with difficult situations.
3. 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.
4. Move toward your goals. Develop some realistic goals. Do a regular, small accomplishment that moves you closer to your goals. The entire task may seem unachievable, so focus on what you can accomplish today is in the right direction.
5. 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.
6. Look for opportunities for self-discovery. Struggling with loss may result in learning and growing in unexpected ways. Surviving hardships may result in greater appreciation for life, increased confidence & self-efficacy, and healthier relationships.
7. Nurture a positive view of yourself. Developing confidence in your ability to solve problems and trusting your instincts helps build resilience.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Take care of yourself. Pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Engage in activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly. This keeps your mind and body ready to deal with situations that require resilience.

The key is to identify ways that are likely to work well for you as part of your own personal strategy for fostering resilience.