People face all kinds of adversity in life. There are personal crises, such as illness, loss of a loved one, abuse, bullying, job loss, and financial instability. There is the shared reality of tragic events in the news, such as terrorist attacks, mass shootings, natural disasters, a global pandemic, and war. People have to learn to cope with and work through very challenging life experiences. Show
Resilience theory refers to the ideas surrounding how people are affected by and adapt to challenging things like adversity, change, loss, and risk. Resilience theory has been studied across different fields, including psychiatry, human development, and change management. RELATED: Are You Making Choices That Help or Hinder Your Resilience? Take the Quiz. Resilience theory tells us that resilience isn’t a fixed trait (you can grow your capacity to practice resilience). And it’s not constant, in that you might demonstrate a lot of resilience when it comes to one challenge you’re faced with, but struggle more with being resilient when it comes to another stressor you’re up against. Flexibility, adaptability, and perseverance can help people tap into their resilience by changing certain thoughts and behaviors. Research shows that when students believe that both intellectual abilities and social attributes can be developed and improved they increase their own resilience, showing a lower stress response to adversity and improved performance. (1) Dr. Sood says resilience involves these five principles:
The Top Factors That Build ResilienceDeveloping resilience is both complex and personal. It involves a combination of inner strengths and outer resources, and there isn’t a universal formula for becoming more resilient. According to APA, some of the key factors that contribute to one’s personal resilience include:
A combination of factors contributes to building resilience, and there isn’t a simple to-do list to work through adversity. Resilience is also something that you develop over time. In a previous longitudinal study, factors that were protective for adolescents at risk of depression, such as family cohesion, positive self-appraisals, and good interpersonal relations, also led to more resilience in young adulthood. (2) RELATED: 20 Tips for Building and Cultivating Your Resilience According to resilience theory, other factors that help build resilience include:
Resilience isn’t something people tap into only during overwhelming moments of adversity, according to research on resilience theory. It builds as people encounter all kinds of stressors every day. What Does the Research Say About Why Resilience Is Important?Resilience is what gives people the emotional strength to cope with trauma, adversity, and hardship. Resilient people utilize their resources, strengths, and skills to overcome challenges and work through setbacks. People who lack resilience are more likely to feel overwhelmed or helpless and rely on unhealthy coping strategies (such as avoidance, isolation, and self-medication). A study published in May 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health suggested that people with resilience, coping capabilities, and emotional intelligence are more likely to have better overall well-being than those with lower resilience, and better life satisfaction. A study from the February 2022 issue of Psychology, Health & Medicine that surveyed 1,032 college students showed that emotional resilience was linked to reduced stress and a more positive life satisfaction overall during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. One study showed that people who had attempted suicide had significantly lower resilience scale scores than people who had never attempted suicide. Resilient people do experience stress, setbacks, and difficult emotions, but they tap into their strengths and seek help from support systems to overcome challenges and work through problems. Resilience empowers them to accept and adapt to a situation and move forward, Sood explains. “[It’s] the core strength you use to lift the load of life.” What Are the 7 Cs of Resilience?Ken Ginsburg, MD, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a cofounder of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication, developed the 7 Cs model of resilience to help kids and teens build the skills to be happier and more resilient. The 7 Cs model is centered on two key points:
The American Academy of Pediatrics summarizes the 7 Cs as follows:
The 7 Cs of resilience illustrate the interplay between personal strengths and outside resources, regardless of age. Types of Resilience: Psychological, Emotional, Physical, and CommunityThe word resilience is often used on its own to represent overall adaptability and coping, but it can be broken down into categories or types:
What Is Psychological Resilience?Researchers define psychological resilience as the ability to mentally cope with or adapt to uncertainty, challenges, and adversity. It is sometimes referred to as “mental fortitude.” People who exhibit psychological resilience develop coping strategies and skills that enable them to remain calm and focused during a crisis and move on without long-term negative consequences, including distress and anxiety. What Is Emotional Resilience?How people cope emotionally with stress and adversity varies from person to person, according to the Children’s Society. Some people are, by nature, more or less sensitive to change. A situation can trigger a flood of emotions in some people and not in others. Emotionally resilient people understand what they’re feeling and why. They tap into realistic optimism, even when dealing with a crisis, and are proactive in using both internal and external resources to get through. They are able to manage external stressors and their own emotions in a healthy, positive way. What Is Physical Resilience?Physical resilience refers to the body’s ability to adapt to challenges, maintain stamina and strength, and recover quickly and efficiently. It’s a person’s ability to function and recover when faced with illness, accidents, or other physical demands. Research shows that physical resilience plays an important role in healthy aging, as people encounter medical issues and physical stressors. (7) Healthy lifestyle choices, connections with friends and neighbors, deep breathing, time well spent to rest and recover, and engagement in enjoyable activities all play a role in physical resilience. What Is Community Resilience?Community resilience refers to the ability of groups of people to respond to and recover from adverse situations, such as natural disasters, acts of violence, economic hardship, and other challenges to the group as a whole. Real-life examples of community resilience include New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; Newtown, Connecticut, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting; New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina; and the communities of Gilroy, California, El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio, and Uvalde, Texas, in the wake of mass shootings. As the United States grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented public health emergency, our resilience is being tested as never before. Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
Which of the following terms refers to a positive form of stress?Definition of eustress
: a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being … during positive stress ("eustress"), such as a promotion or vacation, feel-good chemicals called endorphins are released.—
Which of the following terms refers to a positive form of stress that helps people work when under pressure and respond effectively?Eustress is perceived as positive and beneficial, while distress is associated with negative outcomes. Eustress may help improve their focus and motivate people to take on new challenges, while distress can lead to anxiety, fear, and other negative emotions.
Which stress is known as eustress?Eustress means beneficial stress—either psychological, physical (e.g., exercise), or biochemical/radiological (hormesis). The term was coined by endocrinologist Hans Selye, consisting of the Greek prefix eu- meaning "good", and stress, literally meaning "good stress".
What is eustress and distress?fact, Hans Selye introduced the concept of stress having two categories: distress and eustress. Distress is stress that negatively affects you and eustress is stress that has a positive effect on you. Eustress is what energizes us and motivates us to make a change.
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