Resilience Training
Why is it that some people seem to take life’s challenges in stride, while others fall apart at the least little thing? Haven’t you noticed that some people just ooze grit and determination and others give up after the tiniest failure? You might think this is because certain people have more dominant personalities or may be emotionally stronger than others, and you may be correct in some cases. Some people who seem so strong, however, have gotten that way because they have actually been taught to use coping tactics that allow them to better handle depression, stress, and anxiety. These people have gone through resilience training.
Resilience Definition
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Resilience is your ability to adapt well and recover quickly after stress, adversity, trauma or tragedy. If you have a resilient disposition, you are better able to maintain poise and a healthy level of physical and psychological wellness in the face of life’s challenges.”
When you have emotional resilience, you can look at problems as being temporary and something that can be changed. You can also perceive adversity not as catastrophic, but as something that can have positive aspects: resiliency means you “look on the bright side” of a problem. For those who don’t come by this mental fortitude easily, resilience training can be used to minimize negative thoughts and help you learn ways to bounce back effectively from life’s setbacks.
One thing to keep in mind – being resilient does not mean that you will go through your life without experiencing grief, loss, and painful events. Instead, understand that suffering and personal growth can exist side by side when you learn to work through the emotional effects of adversity.
Besides thorough training, emotional resilience can come from:
Having close relationships with family and friends
Feeling like you are in control of a situation
Having confidence in yourself, knowing your strengths
Keeping a positive outlook – looking for the positives, in spite of your difficulties
Not seeing yourself as a victim
Good problem-solving skills
The ability to manage strong feelings and impulses
Being able to let others help you and being able to help others
Being able to look for and use resources
Coping with stress in healthy ways and avoiding harmful coping strategies, such as substance abuse
What Will You Learn in Resilience Training?
If you would like to learn to be more emotionally resilient, resilience training programs can help you:
Identify ways to respond positively to the pressures and demands of work, finances, and other stressors
Learn techniques to manage risks
Gain tips for developing your natural strengths
Find ways to identify the opportunities that can come from challenges and setbacks
See the relationship between performance, work pressure, personal well-being, and resilience
Practice techniques for promoting long-term behavior and attitude for developing resilience
Develop creativity and problem solving methods
Learn relaxation and stress management techniques
Resilience training can help you learn how to have a more positive outlook in the face of adversity. It can teach you methods for doping in a healthy way when life throws you a curve ball. Without these skills, there can be a tendency to feel overwhelmed by challenges or to dwell on problems, which could lead to anxiety or depression.
For example, resilience training has recently been implemented by the United States military to help soldiers learn to analyze and overcome their emotions and beliefs about failure so they can become tough in mind, as well as body. The military program helps participants learn to look more positively at situations and not to jump to conclusions or judge others too quickly.
In other programs, humanitarian aid workers across the globe have learned to cope with the chronic stress of living in conflict or disaster zones and caring for those in traumatic situations. Aid workers often work under unique pressures and can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Resilience training helps them build coping skills so they can better manage their stress.
Have Questions? We Can Help!
If you are someone who often dwells on problems, tends to assume the worst, or feels overwhelmed much of the time, resilience training can help you decrease your stress and give you a better quality of life. For more information, call Dr. Andrew Rosen and The Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Delray Beach, Florida at 561-496-1094 or contact Dr. Rosen and The Center today.
