u003ch3u003eWhat is Resilience?u003c/h3u003ernMost people will experience a traumatic event at some point in their lives. Norris u0026amp; Sloane (2007) estimate this is true for 90% of all people. Some of us will have several traumatic events in our lives. Some people will respond to this trauma in an effective manner and move on in their lives, others of us will struggle to move forward and carry on.rnrnThe American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats and even significant sources of stress such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stresses”.rnrnWe each have our own built-in resilience. Some of us have more than others. Some of us are more resilient to certain kinds of stressors and less resilient with other kinds of stressors. We can all work to build our resilience and improve our ability to recoup from the stressors we face.rnrnIn their book “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges,” Southwick and Charney (2012) identify ten resilience factors which are helpful. The more resilience we have or can build, the more quickly and easily we can recover from our traumas and stressors.rnrnu003cstrongu003eThese factors are:u003c/strongu003ernu003colu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eOptimismu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eFacing Fearu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eMoral Compass, Ethics and Altruismu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eReligion and Spiritualityu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eSocial Supportu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eRole Modelsu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003ePhysical Fitnessu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eBrain Fitnessu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eCognitive and Emotional Flexibilityu003c/liu003ern tu003cli aria-level=u00221u0022u003eMeaning, Purpose and Growthu003c/liu003ernu003c/olu003ernQuestions: Which of these factors do you feel do well with? Which of these factors do you feel you need to develop?rnrnWe will discuss each of these in the subsequent lessons.
