Life is a marvelous adventure. It is chalk full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, lessons and laughter, opportunities, and challenges, gain and loss. It is a journey to say the least. Inherently, life unfolds with many unknowns and twists and turns that can inspire a myriad of emotions and an evolution that is sure to change you. Change is inevitable; growth is optional. What can be helpful along on this journey of life as one navigates all the facets of life’s unfolding? Resilience! More precisely, emotional resilience is a useful and valuable topic in the realm of mental health and wellness.
Emotional resilience can be thought of as an orientation toward life that serves to strengthen, fortify and support endurance and perseverance. Mechanisms at play include one’s subjective mental reactions, attitudes, feelings or emotions, context, and perspective. Further, it encompasses an aptitude or posture that supports one’s ability to recover, adjust, and work through the inevitable changes and challenges of life. It brings to the forefront the importance of choice, thinking and perception, awareness, orientation, personhood, coping mechanisms, habits, social connection, adaptation, and action. Responding to life’s events in an emotionally resilient manner can serve to be supportive, protective, nurturing, cultivating, preserving, and uplifting. It is a means of active engagement and responding to experiences in life with a key consideration: health and wellness. It is finding ways to flex and grow, to be attuned to experiences and insights, and to lean on supportive connections. Responding in an emotionally resilient manner is likely to help us survive, at worst, and at best, it is likely to be empowering and facilitate a sense of strength that will support more positive outcomes in the long run.
Dr. Harry Barry (2018) separates resilience skills into different areas of life: personal, social, and general life skills. He encourages ideas such as practicing unconditional self-acceptance, problem-solving, relaxation exercises, actively working toward finding balance in life, seeking resolutions in relationship conflicts, dealing with uncertainty and discomfort, and learning to cope with stress. He also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and recognizing interpretations that are made via mental processes. It is empowering to grasp the importance of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Self-study, self-reflection, and self-exploration are all great avenues in which to work with concepts such as these. Therapy is a potential next step that can be taken to work toward self-development and to support the process of building emotional resiliency skills.
Judith Belmont (n.d.), author and therapist, also offers numerous great suggestions for those seeking to bolster emotional resilience. She encourages the use of helpful coping tools such as looking for humor in things, practicing mindfulness (present oriented mind-set), and engaging in self-care. She also promotes a growth-oriented mindset instead of a fixed mindset. Belmont (n.d.) places an emphasis on focusing on solutions rather than problems. This idea taps into values whereby greater emphasis is placed on growth and effort than on achievements and comparison. She highlights the importance of self-compassion as well as extending compassion and empathy toward others. Belmont (n.d.) also wisely brings attention to the power of focusing on matters that are within your control rather than those outside of your control. Perception is another focal point that she draws attention to, pointing out that one’s view of things can be changed! Sometimes altering one’s perception or taking a broader viewpoint can be supportive and helpful.
Orientations toward emotional resilience encompasses a broad spectrum. Active engagement in responding to life’s experiences can be instrumental in supporting positive outcomes and solutions. Social support is key with life’s innate ups and downs. There are always outlets available for seeking extra support, such as Watershed Counseling Center. We are here to support you should the need arise.
Judith Belmont’s Emotional Resilience Resource:
Handout titled Tips for Emotional Resilience by Judith Belmont, MS: https://belmontwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/Tips-for-Emotional-Resilience.pdf
References
Barry, Harry. (2018). Emotional Resilience: How to safeguard your mental health. London: Orion Spring.
Belmont, Judith. (n.d.). TIPS FOR EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE. https://belmontwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/Tips-for-Emotional-Resilience.pdf