Can You Improve Your Level of Resilience?

Chances are that you have been through some tribulations in your life that have caused you to act differently in certain situations or do your best to move past events that have occurred. To keep going in the face of adversity or tragedy takes something called resilience. The good news is that there are ways to improve your resilience, so you will be able to meet obstacles head on. Keep reading for more details.

What is Resilience?

In general terms, resilience involves being able to get through the things you are exposed to in life. For instance, you may have to work through problems, near death experiences, and more. When you are able to do this and keep up with your routine, this is being resilient.

For example, if you are in a car accident and suffer a major injury, then choose to work as hard as you can to get better and heal your body, this is being resilient. Keep in mind that resilience is not something that is usually easy to accomplish. It can take a lot of time, effort, and work. You may also need others to help you meet your goal.

Ways to Improve Resilience

There are a few ways you can work on your resilience.

Build Up a Support System

It is a good idea to have people that you can lean on when you are going through trying times. To do this, you’ll need to be sure that you have a support system. This is a group of friends and family members that you can talk to, ask for advice, and will have a kind word for you when you need it. In some instances, people in your support system will be able to help you with tasks and provide other things you need as well. Perhaps you are sick with a cold, and you need medicine or soup. A loved one that you often lean on, like your best friend or your mom, may be able to bring you much needed supplies.

You can’t just expect people to do things and be there for you, however. You must make sure that you keep your friends and family informed about what is going on in your life and spend time with them as well.

Seek Therapy

The Mayo Clinic reports that there is evidence to suggest that taking care of your mental health can help improve your resilience. This is why, when you have been through issues or events that have contributed to trauma in your life and you are having a hard time working through them, you can speak with a therapist about it. A professional will talk to you about what happened, how to move forward, and also help you process the feelings that you experience.

Moreover, they can counsel you on techniques that will help you cope in situations as they arise or advise on how to think differently about events that affect your life. You can talk to a therapist in their office, or you can meet with an online therapist, where you are able to interact with them on a smart device wherever you are.

It can be difficult to know where to start when learning about resilience and how to improve your own, but BetterHelp is a great resource with therapist-reviewed articles and advice.

Take Care of Physical Health

In addition to addressing your mental health, you should also address your physical health. Get checked out by your doctor to make sure that you are in good health. If there is something that needs to be addressed, you shouldn’t delay in getting treatment.

You should also do what you can to eat healthy and get the exercise that you need. You may start both of these things by making little changes in your routine and keep up with them until you meet the goals you set for yourself.

Keep a Realistic Perspective

Along with the good things that happen to you, there will likely be some bad as well. You should stay aware of this and understand that you will have setbacks from time to time. When you keep this in mind, it may be easier to get through these moments without it greatly affecting your routine or how you are feeling. For instance, if you know that you may lose your job, you can start doing online job searches and adding a bit of extra money to your savings account while you wait to find out.

Along with this, it can be helpful to keep things in perspective. When a circumstance occurs that you didn’t expect and it causes you to have to change plans or suffer, understand that you can get through it.

You will be able to overcome obstacles and get back to where you want to be, although you may have to work a little bit harder. Of course, with the help of your support system and a therapist, this may be easier than trying to accomplish it alone.

Overview

Resilience is something that can be valuable to have when you are trying to get through your daily life. Having resilience doesn’t mean that you won’t be affected when bad things happen, but it does mean that you may be able to move past these things and get back into your routine in a reasonable amount of time.

On the flip side, it could help you figure out how to embrace a new routine. Remember that you can improve your resilience anytime you want to, and it might be advantageous to have people in your corner to help.