BUILDING RESILIENCE

Resilience is the ability to recover from change or to “bounce back” from stress or hardships.

Life is full of changes and difficulties and learning how to be resilient can help people cope with stress with fewer bumps and bruises.

Resiliency can also help people to make meaning and to grow from their adversities. Making lemonade out of lemons is not just reserved for the Pollyannas among us who are always happy and optimistic, but it is part of an essential part of integrating and understanding our life experiences. Research shows that resiliency can be built and people can become more resilient over time. Being resilient means building up the resources to help you cope with stress and using them when you are going through difficult times. Far too often, we might be collectors of resources rather than users - we store them up in a storeroom but are afraid to use them. We tell ourselves that things are not bad enough...by the time things are bad enough, it’s often too late! The more we practice resiliency, the more we will be able to weather the difficulties and stressors of life.