Resilience is often thought of as a special quality that only a few people have. However, this is untrue.
The American Psychological Association describes resilience as the ability to adjust well in the face of difficult situations, such as relationship problems, health challenges or financial setbacks.
Resilience is more than just getting through these tough times; it involves recovering and moving forward from them. And contrary to popular belief, this ability to “bounce back” or “bounce forward” is not rare but is something everyone can develop.
Common misunderstandings about resilience
Being resilient does not mean that a person doesn”t experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common in people who have suffered major adversity or trauma in their lives. And in truth, becoming resilient usually involves facing significant emotional distress.
This shows that resilience isn’t about avoiding stress. It’s about learning certain behaviours, thoughts and actions to handle emotional challenges effectively. Resilient people deal with and manage their emotional pain, showing a strong ability to adapt, not just endure.
Stress: Both good and bad
Stress is often seen only as a negative force that should be completely removed. For example, research found that 91% of people thought staying calm was best in stressful situations.
But in fact, some stress can actually be helpful for adapting better and managing future stress more effectively. It can improve how well we perform tasks, encourage us to cope actively and reduce the harmful effects of stress hormones.
Research on stress and resilience
Studies on both humans and animals show that moderate stress can lead to better adaptation and life satisfaction. For instance, research on young monkeys exposed to some stress found that they adapted better to new environments than monkeys who had been exposed to no stress or to a high level of stress.
Similarly, human studies by Mark Seery at SUNY Buffalo show that, compared to people with no or high levels of adversity, people who have faced moderate challenges in the past manage new stresses better and feel more satisfied with their lives.
How moderate challenges help build resilience
Research suggests that facing some difficulties can be good for developing resilience. This relationship is described as “U-shaped,” meaning that too little or too much adversity can lead to problems, but a moderate amount helps build coping skills and resilience. Further research also shows that this moderate exposure to challenges can even improve our physical health, making us better at dealing with challenging situations.
The wider benefits of resilience
Developing resilience does more than just help us mentally; it also protects our brain function and overall health.
Studies from Johns Hopkins University reveal that a moderate level of the stress hormone cortisol is linked to better brain function, while high levels can reduce brain size and function, especially in women. This emphasizes the protective role of resilience in both dealing with challenges and maintaining brain health.
7 Practical ways to enhance resilience
Building resilience is about thriving, not just surviving through tough times. Here are some practical ways to build resilience:
- Setting goals and managing tasks: According to researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer from Harvard University, making progress in meaningful work, even small progress, is very important for a positive mindset. Breaking down goals into smaller tasks that we can achieve successfully can help keep a positive outlook and build resilience. This method also aligns with our understanding of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reward-motivated behavior, which spikes in anticipation of a reward.
- Identifying and reframing emotions: Naming our emotions or reframing how we view stressful situations can greatly reduce their emotional impact. This helps manage our emotional responses more effectively. It also decreases activation of the amygdala, the brain region involved in processing emotions, especially fear.
- Accepting negative emotions: Research suggests that accepting our negative emotions rather than fighting them improves our mental health. This acceptance also helps us feel fewer negative emotions when stressed.
- Reappraisal of stress: Studies suggest that seeing the stress response as helpful rather than harmful can reduce its physical effects and lead to a healthier way of handling stress immediately but also over the long term.
- Controlling breathing: Slow, deep breathing helps increase our tolerance to stress and aids recovery from it. This technique helps by increasing heart rate variability, a sign of good stress management.
- Mindfulness and journaling: Practices like mindfulness and writing about our thoughts and feelings help us become more aware of them. Being aware is the first step in changing how we think and react in different situations.
- Diet, exercise and sleep: This is not something that people usually think of when building resilience. But eating a healthy diet, getting moderate amounts of exercise and sleeping well increase our brain energy so that we have the cognitive reserves to tackle difficulties that life throws at us.
Wrap-up
Resilience is a skill that we can all learn and improve. It helps us deal with and recover from stress and difficulties.
By understanding stress as something that can actually help build resilience, we can take a more complete approach to facing life’s challenges. This involves using stress positively and allowing ourselves to experience manageable levels of challenge, which prepares us for better mental, emotional and physical health.
In other words, building resilience is not about avoiding stress but about learning to use it to our advantage.
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Contributing Author:
Dr. Irena O’Brien, PhD, is a neuroscientist and neuroscience educator. She has been studying neuroscience and psychology for over 20 years following a successful career as a chartered accountant. She is passionate about neuroscience and sharing it with others. She reads and writes about the latest research in neuroscience and psychology in a way that is designed to offer us practical tools and strategies to better our own lives and the lives of our clients.Â
She founded The Neuroscience School in 2017. Her mission is to create self-awareness on the planet and she does that by teaching coaches and helping professionals learn about neuroscience and how they can apply what they learn to help their clients. She is known for her ability to simplify neuroscience research into what’s essential and practical for coaches to use in their work with clients. Her neuroscience program for coaches is currently certified by the ICF for continuing coach education units. You can find her at neuroscienceschool.com.
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