What Is Resilience, and Why Is It Important?
People can survive the most challenging ordeals—some even thrive. And yet, they may be unaware or unclear exactly how they got through the challenges they faced (Neenan, 2018).
Inner resilience is an important resource that appears to be the secret to success in the outer world and the basis of good mental health (Neenan, 2018).
The suggestion that resilience is simply being able to bounce back most likely comes from its use in the physical sciences. A resilient material can return to its original state after being bent or stretched—often dramatically. Just think of a bridge spanning a wide river, maintaining its integrity despite twisting in the wind, or a small flower growing through concrete (Pemberton, 2015).
Similarly, resilience in the human context has been described as the “capacity to remain flexible in our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors when faced by life disruption, or extended periods of pressure, so that we emerge from difficulty stronger, wiser, and more able” (Pemberton, 2015, p. 2).
Being Resilient: Its Meaning in Psychology
The resilient individual often does more than simply bounce back.
Following a significant event, such as the death of a loved one or an unexpectedly bad medical diagnosis, even the most resilient person is unlikely to return to the path they were on—or at least remain unchanged.
Instead, psychology recognizes that resilient individuals going through significant life events do not always recover effortlessly; they often find a new path. Even when knocked by what has happened, the darkest times still typically lead to growth, including (Neenan, 2018):
- A new or revised self-image
Resilient people become aware of unexpected abilities as they rise to each new challenge.
- Enriched and clarified relationships
During difficult times, they recognize the friends who remain and offer support and those who no longer return calls or are toxic or draining and prioritize positive relationships.
- Altered priorities
A new and possibly more focused perspective can remove what is unimportant and clarify and motivate meaningful values, life goals, and priorities.
A renewed purpose can also strengthen the resolve of those who are already resilient. “Studies have found that having a clear and valued purpose, and committing fully to a mission, can markedly strengthen one’s resilience” (Southwick & Charney, 2018, p. 251).
What is psychological resilience?
Over time, stress can have a damaging impact on our psychological, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Psychological resilience can protect individuals from its effects and boost their ability to regain a sense of control in their lives (Southwick & Charney, 2018).
While there are many definitions of resilience, psychologists typically agree that it is a multi-fold concept, made up of both the capacity to handle difficult times and our ability to respond flexibly. Some researchers go further, identifying the following three factors as essential to resilience (Boniwell & Tunariu, 2019):
- Recovery
Returning to normality or the pre-stressor degree of functioning
- Resistance
Limited or no signs of disturbance following the stressor
- Reconfiguration
Returning to a different homeostasis and finding new stability according to the change in circumstances
Unlike recovery or resistance, reconfiguration is an essential part of the process of transformation the individual experiences when a return to their original path is difficult or unthinkable (Boniwell & Tunariu, 2019).
What our readers think
I am doing my capstone for interdisciplinary studies: Emphasis psychology and education on “how to build resilience”? I truly believe that having multiple struggles at a time and a loving parent, coach, teacher, or some type of support, at the exact same time is the key to building resilience.
Hello, I am curious to know if there are some books that you would recommend.
Hi Alain,
Thank you for your interest! Regarding the topic of resilience, here are a few book recommendations that you might find valuable:
– “The Resilience Factor” by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté – This book offers practical strategies for building resilience in your personal and professional life.
– “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth – Duckworth explores the role of resilience in achieving long-term goals.
– “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy” by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant – This book provides a personal and research-backed look at overcoming adversity and building resilience.
– “Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness” by Rick Hanson – Hanson combines neuroscience and practical tools to help readers build inner strength.
I hope this helps 🙂
Warm regards,
Julia | Community Manager
Hello, dear, I am Bani Fatemi, Ph.D. in Persian language and literature from the land of poetry and culture, Iran.I am writing an interdisciplinary article. I read the translation of your article. Your article was excellent both in terms of structure and content. I enjoyed. I congratulate you.
Hi – a friend of mine who’s a high school teacher recently told me he believes resilience is down in young people today. Have you ever heard this theory or seen any studies about this? I’m researching it now and came across your article. Very helpful. Thank you.
Hi Steven,
I’m glad you found this article helpful, and that’s an interesting perspective shared by your friend.
It’s difficult from a research perspective to say whether the resilience of young people is less than what it was in the past. One reason why is that resilience is displayed in response to adversity, and many of the forms of adversity faced by young people today are different from what they’ve been in the past (e.g., global conflict, technology, economic factors). So if young people are not as resilient as they once were, it’s hard to know whether or not this lesser ability to cope is, even in part, due to different or less well-understood stressors.
Other factors may involve changing perspectives toward parenting. For instance, there’s this notion of helicopter parenting, which is gaining increased interest in research, likely increasing in practice, and has been shown to result in decreased resilience (see Hall et al., 2021).
You’ll also note the growing awareness around psychology and mental health challenges. With this increased access to knowledge and language, more people have the words and awareness to speak up about the challenges they’re facing, so what may appear to be a reduction in resilience among young people in the aggregate may actually just be a reduction of people suffering in silence. In other words, it’s possible that about the same number of young people are struggling to demonstrate resilience to a similar degree as those in the past, it’s just that more young people in the past were doing so in silence.
I’ve only mentioned three “lenses” through which you could look at this question, but you can see it’s a complex and multifaceted issue! I.e., it’s hard to compare the young people of the past with the young people of today when the context, culture, and conditioning are so different.
Perhaps take a look at this paper by Masten (2013) for a birds-eye perspective on this question 🙂
I hope this has offered some food for thought.
– Nicole | Community Manager
i found reading this page intriguing and helpful
it is amazing how so much can go on with just one word
thanks