Resilience

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 In Tip of the Month
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Resiliency is defined as “the ability to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties.
To be resilient is an important skill that will assist you in triumphing over challenges, whether it is at home, or in the workplace. Examples of very challenging circumstances that can become a test to one’s ability to cope include death of a loved one, divorce, financial issues, illness, job loss, medical emergencies, and natural disasters (Cherry, 2023)1. Self-reflection helps us to better understand how we are feeling; are we feeling burnt-out, overwhelmed, or complacent? How does the current situation we are in make us feel?

Step 1 – Pause

Pay attention to what is here for you in the moment. Are your thoughts positive or negative? How do those thoughts make you feel? What sensations are you feeling in your body? Are you noticing signs of anxiety, anger, restlessness, etc. or signs of apathy, detachment, numbing, etc.? Checking in with your body will give you a good indicator of how much stress you are under (Hamilton Health Sciences, 2020)2. When you are distracted by feelings and thoughts, you are disengaged with your audience…if you learn to refocus, you are better able to handle stress (WHO, 2020)3.

Step 2 – Reset

Use grounding strategies. There are 3 types of grounding: Mental, Physical and Soothing. Mental grounding can be the easiest at times, to assist in calming the mind before making a difficult decision (Hamilton Health Sciences, 2020).

To refocus, try the following:
a) Use a mental image that provides you comfort. Focus on that image and how it makes you feel.
b) Think of something funny to help lighten your mood.
c) Count to 10 slowly while taking deep breaths.

Step 3 – Nourish

After resetting yourself, take a brief amount of time to recognize the importance of the work that you do; you are self-aware and took the time to assess yourself and implement interventions to give yourself calmness and a peaceful mind (Hamilton Health Sciences, 2020). Sometimes, depending on the amount of stress a person is under, it may prove helpful to seek additional resources to maintain a healthy mind, or help heal a stressful one.

Remember…. to give great care to others, you must care for yourself too!

Resources

  1. Cherry, K. (2023). How resilience helps you cope with life’s challenges. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-resilience-2795059
  2. Hamilton Health Sciences. (2020). Resilience toolkit ad prn resources. https://www.hamiltonhealthsciences.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/HHS-Resilience-Toolkit-and-PRN-Resources.pdf
  3. World Health Organization. (2020). Doing what matters in times of stress. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240003927

For Health Care Workers: Ontario-West-Mental-Health-Support-Resource-Sheet-May-7-2021.pdf (lwha.ca)

Resources

  1. Cherry, K. (2023). How resilience helps you cope with life’s challenges. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-resilience-2795059
  2. Hamilton Health Sciences. (2020). Resilience toolkit ad prn resources. https://www.hamiltonhealthsciences.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/HHS-Resilience-Toolkit-and-PRN-Resources.pdf
  3. World Health Organization. (2020). Doing what matters in times of stress. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240003927

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