In the face of failure and adversity, we often are faced with feelings of disappointment and shame. While we need time to process these experiences, it’s important to remember that we are resilient and have skills that can get us through these tough times. While resilience does not eliminate the stress or problems, it can give us strength to get through them and through future tough experiences.
Resilience is defined as the “process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace financial stressors. As much as resilience involves “bouncing back” form these difficult experiences, it can also involve profound personal growth” (APA, 2012).
How to build resilience:
- Prioritize Relationships. Connecting with others that are empathetic and understanding can remind you that you’re not alone when it comes to difficulties. Prioritizing genuinely connecting with people who care about you can help when we feel isolated.
- Foster wellness. Taking care of your body and mind is highly important as maintenance and in time of difficulty. Proper nutrition, sleep, hydration, and regular exercise and strengthen your body to adapt to stress and reduce the tolls of anxiety or depression. Mindfulness, cultivated through journaling, yoga, and other practices, can help build connections and restore hope.
- Find Purpose. Helping others can empower you to grow and as much as possible, it’s important to be proactive in self-discovery.
- Embrace Healthy Thoughts/Reframe Thoughts. It’s important to keep things in perspective and move away from negative thoughts. It’s important to accept change and maintain a hopeful outlook while remembering the numerous accomplishments you had in the past.
- Focus on What you can Control. We can only control our behaviors and thoughts in relation to experiences, so remember that not all is our fault and decided how to move forward.
- Seek help. Asking and accepting help is sometimes necessary. This can mean asking a loved one to do a simple favor for us or seeking support from a mental health provider. Many databases and services can help find an adequate fit for a therapist (such as Psychology Today, Mental Health Match, Therapy for Latinx, or Melanin and Mental Health).
Watch a video about Resilience