Developing Resilience

Psychologists define resilience as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. As much as resilience involves “bouncing back” from these difficult experiences, it can also involve profound personal growth.

Below are three videos that provide suggestions on how to build resilience.

Everyone experiences loss, but how do you cope with the tough moments that follow? Resilience researcher Dr. Lucy Hone shares three hard-won strategies for developing the capacity to brave adversity, overcome struggle and face whatever may come head-on with fortitude and grace.

Psychologist Susan David shares how the way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health and happiness. In this deeply moving, humorous and potentially life-changing talk, she challenges a culture that prizes positivity over emotional truth and discusses the powerful strategies of emotional agility.

As we grow through life, we’re taught what’s “ok” and what isn’t, when it comes to demonstrating emotions. We learn to push them away, reject, or suppress what has been deemed socially unacceptable. But when it comes down to it, emotions are neither “good”, nor “bad”. They simply are — in our DNA. And the best approach is to simply be, and experience, and express those emotions in a constructive way — be that to family, children, colleagues, friends, or a stranger on the street. Artūrs Miksons, MD, is a psychotherapist and head doctor of the Riga Stradins University Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy. A well-liked teacher among students, passionate and active promoter of emotional health. In clinical practice, he successfully combines the roles of both child and adult psychotherapist. Helping an adult or child to get to the true nature of themselves, to encourage and improve emotional closeness in the family and to alleviate emotional suffering.