We all love to hear stories about people who’ve managed to go on and succeed in spite of facing overwhelming situations. These people are described as being resilient. Resilience can be defined as the ability to withstand and rebound from serious life challenges. Resilient people don’t just survive or get through, but heal from the painful experience, take charge of their lives and go on to live and love well. Resilience is nothing new, but has only been studied since the 1970s. Resilience has become one of many ‘buzzwords’ that are picked up in the media and in recent times I’ve seen news articles about our resilient economy, resilient industries, and resilient plants to name a few.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at ways we can strengthen resilience in our children and families. One of the constants in our lives is change and all parents want their children to be able to cope with life’s ups and downs. We want them to be able to adapt to change and approach negative events and sources of stress as constructively as possible. Having a resilient attitude helps in maintaining good mental health, as well as helping people transition through the many life stages they will face. In developing resilience, our children learn valuable skills and habits that will help them deal with challenges later in life.
No family is problem free and all struggle at different times with stressful life challenges or traumatic experiences. Added to that, our media reminds us constantly about global economic, political, social and environmental upheaval and the uncertainty of the future. Dealing with life’s challenges helps build resilience. Resilient people are not always happy and do experience unpleasant emotions and thoughts, however they have developed healthy coping techniques that allow them to effectively navigate the crises they face. A person’s resilience is shaped by a number of things including individual temperament, personality, environment they grew up in – both family and community. Next week, we will look at some practical steps parents can take in helping children navigate life’s challenges.
