What is resilience and how can we become more resilient?

RESILIENCE:

Resilience, the ability to work through adversity, to bounce back is a seemingly overused and misunderstood buzzword these days. It’s WHAT you want to achieve and HOW you go about achieving it. It’s a skill we can all develop, with hard work and practice.

STRATEGY 1:

Understand and accept life doesn’t always go to plan. The shit hits the fan from time to time. Work to expand your perspective and search doggedly for the positives, for the lessons, for the meaning in life’s tough moments.

STRATEGY 2:

Value the power of social support and ensure you have good people in your corner. Work hard on your relationships, recognising that healthy relationships are made up of a good dose of give and take. Don’t go it alone.

STRATEGY 3:

Take responsibility for your own actions. Get back in the rider’s seat and gain control over your life. Resilient people have the capacity to STOP and REFLECT on whether what they’re doing is helpful. If the answer is no, choose to do things differently. We do have a choice!

STRATEGY 4:

Don’t be so hard on yourself. Resilient people acknowledge that they may not always make the right choices, but they refrain from perpetual self-criticism and remain open to learning. Treat yourself like a good mate!

HELP EXISTS WHEN YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK

• Lifeline 13 11 14
• Book a session with a GP and ask about a Mental Health Plan – healthdirect.gov.au
• Someone Health – someone.health
• Stay connected with friends and family