Defining Resilience
Resilience is a muscle that anyone can build by using internal strengths and leveraging external resources. Here are some actionable steps that you can work on today to help you move through stressful times with more ease and compassion.
Reach Out to Your Community
Take One Step at a Time
Come Back to Your Body
Give space to your feelings and include a body-centered practice such as yoga, body scan meditations, breathwork, rolfing, or craniosacral if you are able. This is an important step in the process of fully healing from a stressful event. Trauma expert Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk has written the book on this very topic. The Body Keeps the Score has become the classic book on how the physical body is affected by stress and trauma. Check out his beautiful interview with Krista Tippett with On Being for an introduction to his work.
Identify Circumstances Outside Your Control
Circumstances are neutral, despite however negative or positive we may perceive them to be. Byron Katie says that the circumstance itself does not directly cause pain, rather how we choose to think about the circumstance is what influences how we feel. This explains how two people can interpret a circumstance differently, despite having a similar or same experience. The goal is not to perceive everything as positive all the time, however, it may be to reach a place of acceptance and neutrality so that we can move forward more effectively. This 25-minute podcast episode is worth a listen to explore this topic further: https://thelifecoachschool.com/podcast/187/
Accept Change and Embrace Healthy Thoughts
Your thoughts have an enormous influence on your feelings. Try to identify areas of irrational thinking. If you feel overwhelmed by challenge, remind yourself that what happened to you is not an indicator of your future. You are not helpless. You may not be able to change a stressful event but you can change your response to that event. Accept that change is part of life and tragedy is part of every persons life at some point. Certain goals or ideals may no longer be attainable because of an adverse situation however acceptance will help you change your focus to things that are most important and allow you to move forward.
Find Positive Stress Management Tools
During times of adversity even the smallest gestures of love and kindness towards yourself and others can be helpful. Here are some simple ideas that you can build on: go on a nature walk at a local park or trail, build a snowman, go to a plant shop to be immersed in nature indoors, follow a guided meditation through a free app such as Calm or Insight Timer, or watch a light-hearted TV show or movie. Maintain a connection to your foundations of health to keep a sense of rhythm in your day to day life. Move your body every day, hydrate and nourish your body with healthy food and water. The goal isn’t to be perfect, but to do what you can to take care of yourself.
Get Professional Support
It is okay to reach out for professional support. Talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR, brainspotting can all be incredibly beneficial for processing a traumatic event. The team at Boulder Natural Health has an abundance of treatments and referrals to help support you through difficult times. We have supplements to help with calming, herbs to help build nervous system resilience, flower essence remedies to help move through trauma, stress and grief, and remedies to help re-create healthy sleep patterns. We also have great referrals for acupuncture, massage, counseling, craniosacral therapy and other modalities. Reach out to your provider if you need support during this time, whether you are navigating a stressful event or starting a new routine.