Sometimes life seems to pile up all at once. We find ourselves trying to juggle a multitude of daily challenges, large and small, or unexpected events that send our anxiety or stress responses into a tailspin. When this happens, it can be difficult to take a moment to check-in and […]
The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was developed by two researchers - Kathryn M. Conner and Jonathan R.T. Davidson. Connor is a psychiatrist and a researcher at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Her research is focused on stress, anxiety, social anxiety, medications, and resilience. Davidson is a Professor Emeritus […]
What is your first reaction in the face of sudden stress? Do you make a plan to overcome it? Talk it out with your friends? Avoid confronting the situation? Or try to hide the fear by resorting to comfort food or other substances? There are so many different ways of […]
As they say, trauma is a nightmare that comes while we are awake. Not only is it difficult to overcome trauma, but it also takes tremendous effort and perseverance to do so. But suffering has transformative power. Be that in religion, poetry, philosophy, or literature - the general understanding of […]
Children don’t come with instructions and discipline is often experienced by parents and children alike as an arena where our will and wits are tested. Positive reinforcement is only one of many forms of discipline, but from the perspective of positive psychology it may as well be the most important […]
How resilient are you? Some people seem to quickly bounce back from personal failures and setbacks, while others find it much more difficult. When life knocks you down, are you quick to pick yourself up and adapt to the circumstances? Or do you find yourself completely overwhelmed with little confidence […]
There is a buzz about resilience recently. Resilience is the ability to recover from setbacks and adapt to challenging circumstances and is required to thrive and flourish. It is a foundational psychological tool which empowers us to feel effective and capable of handling uncertainty. Despite this definition, there has been […]
Experiencing the loss of a loved one, sexual abuse, violence, and war; these are the things that shape us. Life will continuously be a balance between peace and turmoil. That is the reality of the human experience. When faced with tough times, others encourage us to push through and be […]
Most of us are familiar with the expression “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” It turns out that this is only partially true – not everyone possesses the ability to persevere following trauma. Indeed, while some people crumble in the face of adversity, others are somehow able to […]
Teachers who teach resilience might change the trajectory of their student's lives. It is not easy to teach resilience in the classroom, but it is crucial. Teaching resilience is beyond memorization, calculation, and other traditional learning methods. It requires interaction and engagement. Resilience is about the process of becoming, which children […]
To be able to handle most things in life… Why is it that some people, when faced with adversity, will be forced to defend themselves against further onslaught and erect barriers while others will transform it into a challenge and marshal all their abilities to meet it head on? Our […]
How do you collect yourself after a stressful event? Emotional resilience is when you are able to calm your frantic mind after encountering a negative experience. It is intrinsic motivation, an inner force by which we can hold ourselves through all the downsides of life. Just like other aspects of […]
Mental health encompasses far more than the mere absence of disorders. There are a number of dimensions when it comes to positive mental health, one of which is resilience. Resilience is the process of being able to adapt well and bounce back quickly in times of stress. This stress may […]
Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness or the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity. (Oxford Dictionary, 2018). Resilience is something that is within each of us, but how we use it, and how well are key determinants in […]
In this article, we will explore the way in which eustress - what I call positive stress - may provide a long-lasting solution to the pervasive “distress” which may be creating harm in our lives. “Imagine feeling capable of handling whatever life throws at you, without having to panic, overreact, […]
Do you know someone who keeps on keeping on, no matter what life throws at them? How do they continue to thrive, flourish, and grow even stronger as they overcome the obstacles they face? The answer is resilience – which the APA describes as: “The process of adapting well in […]
One of the most popular topics in positive psychology—both in the field itself and in mainstream discussion of positive psychological concepts—is resilience. To some, resilience is a sort of “miracle drug” personality trait, something that can heal all wounds and right all wrongs. While resilience may not be the end-all […]
Building resilience is an important part of growth and change. There are several ways to cultivate and inspire resilience in people. A good start is finding a sentence that resonates with you. It empowers you, motivates you, and becomes a mantra you internally chant to yourself every day. Words can […]
