5 Ways to Build Emotional Resilience
As humans, we need adversity to grow stronger.
Run with it instead of running away from it.
Events and different stages of life can bring challenges or stresses, affecting how we work and live.
How we react and deal with them can determine how quickly we recover.
Being resilient in difficult times is a skill that some people seem to do better in than others.
The good news is, it’s a skill that can be learned and developed.
Here are some ways I’ve learnt, (and still learning!) to be able to bounce back or just keep on going through difficult times.
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ACCEPTANCE Acceptance of life – that life isn’t fair. Let go of the thinking of how things ‘should’ be. |
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BREATHE Pause and breathe when you’ve been caught in an unexpected difficult situation. It relaxes you and gives you a moment to figure out a way to handle the situation.
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CARE Getting a good night’s sleep can make a big difference to how we’re feeling and coping. It’s my first ‘go to’ when I’ve a lot on or a bit run down. Day to day you may need to slow down a bit, or meet friends or have some time alone. Perhaps a simple walk or going to the doctor. It’s whatever needs to be done to allow you to keep going. |
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DO Make plans, meet friends, have a night out. When we’re anxious, we tend to put off or call off things. Set some goals that stretch you a bit but aren’t too high. Challenging ourselves builds our resilience skills. |
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EVIDENCE “Focus on what you can control.” – Michelle Obama |
One thing I’ve also had to learn is patience.
Last year, I was going through a particularly tough time. During it, I was doing ‘all the right things’ and waiting for the ‘feeling stronger, feeling better’ part to kick in.
This didn’t happen in the way I thought it should. I had to bring in patience and acceptance of where I am, what’s going on and that it’s ok, I’ll be ok.
I did get stronger and feel better but it wasn’t a clear end point that I reached.
It’s a constant willingness and commitment to keep going. It can be ugly and messy but also empowering and great.
Finally, being resilient can be different for all of us. Find your support, talk to someone if you need to. Be kind to yourself and keep going.