Resilient is On Your CV, but What Does it Mean and How Do You Become Resilient?

Resilience has become a bit of a buzz word recently, but I have a feeling a lot of the people who describe themselves as resilient would have a breakdown if their meal came out the wrong temperature. So, what is resilience?

Resilience is defined as “adapting well in the face of chronic or acute adversity”.

Resiliency is essential for a good quality of life. There’s a major misconception that you must undergo certain life experiences, or have a traumatic past to be labelled ‘resilient’. We look up to individuals who have experienced tough life circumstances and persevered, as it demonstrates resilience, resolve and anti-fragility.

We can’t all be David Goggins. However, there are methods you can introduce into your daily routine, which don’t take too much time or effort, but compound over time to improve your resiliency. This will aid you in coping better with life stressors, if and when they do arise.

The methods I’m going to discuss, from a publication by Tabibnia in 2020 (1), are something I personally feel should be taught, or at the very least discussed throughout the school years. This is significantly lacking, so it typically comes down to individual life experience in order to build resiliency. These methods create the foundation for a healthier mind as we move through life.

The benefits of becoming more resilient are ten-fold, they include:

• The ability to better cope with sudden life trauma (e.g. loss of a family member, medical diagnosis).

• Improved coping and quality of life with chronic stressors (e.g. chronic illness, difficult work life, poor relationships etc.).

• Decreased susceptibility to and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

• Decreased activity of the ‘Default Mode Network’. This results in reduced ruminating thoughts, less negative self-talk and thinking about the past/future.

Tabibnia (2020) described the 3-part neuroscience model of Building Resilience, which we are going to go through in more depth now. Many of these methods and techniques we can learn to use and adjust for ourselves, however there are certain techniques which we would require a trained medical professional to assist us with.

(3-part Model of Building Resilience ). Solid arrow = well-defined role, dashed arrow = some evidence

Down-regulating the Negative

• Exposure to negative or feared stimuli i.e. exposure therapy. An example of this for me personally was with public speaking and large social gatherings. Social anxiety was always something I’ve struggled with, but by exposing myself to more situations where I had to speak in front of larger groups, that fear gradually reduced. There still is some fear there and that hasn’t completely gone, but I can cope with it much better and reframe it as exciting or as an opportunity. It takes time.

• Stress inoculation – regular exposure to moderate stressors with adequate recovery periods.

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

• Confrontational strategies (e.g. write/talk about the fear). I found journaling very useful here. There’s quite a stigma around men journaling as it appears ‘soft’, but I think most people, especially men would benefit.

• Active coping - engage in actions that reduce self-perceived negative feelings.

• Control the stressor as much as possible – e.g. if you find yourself getting highly irritated around a certain individual, try to limit contact with that person as much as possible.

• Affect labelling – label how ‘X’ makes you feel.

• Reinterpretation of event – e.g. In the case of a serious lower limb injury, we can use that as an opportunity to improve our upper body strength.

• Perspective – how bad is your situation really? Put it into perspective in the greater scheme of things.

• Self-efficacy (i.e. your belief in your ability to overcome difficulty) – this comes from doing difficult thongs regularly and challenging yourself.

• Cognitive bias – is your first response to a stressor always negative?

Up-regulating the Positive

• Optimism – ‘just be optimistic’ can be infuriating advice, but if you try to be more optimistic about why bad things happen it may help – most of the time it is just luck, not because the universe is against you.

• Smiling and Humour – any one who knows me well will know that dark humour is one of my coping mechanisms. In negative life events, it can combat depression/anxiety symptoms – which is probably why it is used so often in individuals who have lost a loved one.

• Self-affirmation – reflect on sources of self-worth and important values.

• Reactivate positive memories – think about positive times from your past, or times where you have previously overcome tough situations.

• Physical health strategies – quality sleep, exercise, diet, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol.

• Social strategies – receiving and giving social validation and support.

• Compassion or gratitude – put yourself in another’s situation, express gratitude out loud or to yourself in a journal. Hug someone or tell someone how much they mean to you.

Transcending the Self

• Mindfulness – purposefully pay attention to the present moment (e.g. when with a loved one or eating your favourite meal)

• Life purpose or goals – will vary from person to person but may involve religion, philosophy, your job, your hobbies etc.

• Exposure to nature – go for a walk in the forest, go for a sea swim, or just go outside for a few minutes and get some sunlight exposure.

• Flow – perform tasks which challenge you regularly. They shouldn’t be too easy as you’ll get bored, but they also shouldn’t be too difficult so you can’t complete it. This could include learning a new skill, playing chess, or doing intense exercise.

I have incorporated many of these strategies into my own life and my daily routine over the years. They’ve helped me beyond description in terms of physical, mental and social health.

It takes time to build positive habits and make changes, but of you focus on just one or two of these and incorporate it into your life regularly then you’ve made a great start.

“If you want something good, get it from yourself” – Epictetus

If you would like to get in touch or need help with anything, you can email info@healthandperformanceacademy.ie, visit our website www.healthandperformanceacademy.ie, or via instagram @healthandperformanceacademy.

References

Tabibnia G. An affective neuroscience model of boosting resilience in adults. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2020 Aug 1;115:321–50.