Defining Resilience By Faculty of Nursing
Opening Thoughts
Every so often, a new ‘buzzword’ becomes popular in everyday culture. If you look to Google, social media, webinars, articles, self-help books, the news, or just plain everyday conversation, the ‘Resilience Movement’ can be found everywhere. But what is resilience exactly? And what is it not? This module will define resilience as a construct and explore its many components. But even though resilience is now ‘trending’, it is not new. Numerous individuals throughout history have lived extraordinary lives despite insurmountable obstacles, and their stories are inspiring and uplifting. There have also been many devastatingly tragic events in history that put people to the ultimate test for survival. In this module, we will examine both. Finally, we also look at today’s pop culture for representations of resilience and hope that may help people take on and overcome life’s challenges.
Dictionary Definition of Resilience
Essential Meaning of resilience (noun)
Pronounced “ri-zil-yən(t)s”
1: the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens. i.e. “The rescue workers showed remarkable resilience in dealing with the difficult conditions.”
2: the ability of something to return to its original shape after it has been pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc. i.e. “Cold temperatures caused the material to lose resilience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dec 2021
Nature or Nurture?
The trend among multiple articles and media sources is to either classify resilience as something innate that we are all born with and only access when required or as something that is built and learned over time. Review the following resources that define resilience to compare and contrast these two views. Take the time to consider these different perspectives regarding how one acquires resilience and how they might apply to your own lived experiences.
Resilience Quotes
Resilience is our ability to bounce back from life’s challenges and unforeseen difficulties, providing mental protection from emotional and mental disorders.
Michael Rutter (1985)
Resilience is a dynamic process wherein individuals display positive adaptation despite experiences of significant adversity or trauma. This term does not represent the individual’s personality trait or attribute. Rather, it is a two-dimensional construct that implies exposure to adversity and the manifestation of positive adjustment outcomes.
(Suniya S. Luthar, 2007)
Breaking Down Resilience
The 4 Types of Resilience
The word resilience is often used to represent overall adaptability and coping, but it can be broken down into four categories or types.
Physical
Mental
Emotional
Social
Physical Resilience
Physical resilience refers to our body’s capacity to rise to physical challenges, maintain stamina, and recover efficiently and effectively when damaged. Our body also can meet physical challenges when they arise, such as sickness or accidents, to heal or manage ongoing physical health conditions.
Mental Resilience
Mental resilience is about thinking flexibly, weighing options, considering alternatives, conceptualizing step-by-step means to reach a goal, understanding different perspectives, and creative problem-solving. Mental resilience also refers to our ability to meet challenging circumstances by creating viable alternatives and being innovative and flexible with our ideas and thinking—the ability to work with change to develop solutions to issues.
Emotional Resilience
Emotional resilience is how we manage our emotional response to challenges and deal with our feelings and ‘negative’ emotions like anger, fear, vulnerability, or sadness. Emotional resilience is connected to emotional intelligence, emotional awareness, perseverance, acceptance, and optimism. Emotionally resilient people tend to accept adversities with flexibility and the attitude that times are tough, but they will get better. Emotional resilience allows people to find positive things when circumstances seem grim.
Social Resilience
Social resilience stems from connecting with others socially. It may include catching up with a friend, working in a team, networking, or getting involved with your community.
It is all about our connection to others and supporting each other through difficult times. Community, family, and friendship support are essential when navigating personal or collective challenges. Social resilience is built on trust, diversity, tolerance, and respect.
Match each of the following types of resilience with their definition by clicking and dragging the tiles.
- Our connection to others and support for each other through difficult times
- Then body’s capacity to rise to physical challenges
- How we deal with our feelings and ‘negative’ emotions
- Our ability to engage in creative problem-solving
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Resilience’s 6 Domains
The related components of resilience have been divided into six distinct domains that explain the specific factors that make a person resilient. Vision, Composure, Reasoning, Tenacity, Collaboration, and Health.
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VISION
The most important of the domains, Vision, is about your sense of purpose, goals, and personal vision for yourself. The reason this is the most crucial domain is that all other domains are guided by what it is you want to achieve. Having clarity in this domain allows you to be decisive when facing tough choices and to maintain perspective when facing challenges. Whether your goals relate to family, work, or a side project, what’s essential is being specific and clear.
- 2
COMPOSURE
It’s about regulating emotions. The brain’s ‘fight, flight, or freeze’ response flares up when facing conflict or hearing about a sudden change at work, school, or in life in general. But being able to overcome that instinctive emotional response and maintain your composure often means being able to recognize hidden opportunities and solve problems in novel ways. This is because becoming emotional prevents you from correctly accessing your critical thinking ability.
- 3
REASONING
Creativity and innovative problem-solving are beneficial when facing challenges along the way. This is what the Reasoning domain is all about. This domain needs Composure to keep your cool and Vision to know what goals to direct your actions toward.
- 4
TENACITY
Persistence is the key. Learn from mistakes. Rarely will we do things right the first time. And even when doing something we know well, eventually, we will make a mistake. At home, with friends, or at work, errors creep in everywhere, but what is important is how we react to mistakes. Admonishing ourselves doesn’t help. Instead, we must look at our mistakes objectively, find lessons in them, and not define ourselves by them. The past is there to learn from, not to dwell on.
- 5
COLLABORATION
We are social beings. The brain has a deep fundamental need for connection with others to thrive. The brain has dedicated neural structures to recognize facial expressions, while mirror neurons fire within the brain to help us empathize with others. We are, after all, in this together, so what we do and focus on is not just for us but to help our communities together and improve our world. This connection is what the Collaboration domain is about.
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HEALTH
The foundational domain. Good health means looking after your body through what you eat, exercising, and getting quality sleep. A healthy body provides a strong foundation for your resilience so you can focus on your sense of purpose and goals. Good health is not the ultimate goal, but it is an enabler to achieve your larger personal vision. Healthy nutrition, quality sleep, and regular exercise are still crucial!
Reflection Moment
Which one of these six resilience domains do you MOST identify with in your own life?
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TAKE AGAIN
Which one of these six resilience domains do you LEAST identify with in your own life?
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TAKE AGAIN
