Resilience denotes and describes the ability to manage crises without causing psychological damage. We show you how you can strengthen your mental resilience.
You surely know these people: standing men who don’t let anything get them down. If a misfortune happens to them, they get up again shortly afterwards – and even during the corona crisis they manage to stay calm. Psychologists call such people resilient.
Resilience is the immune system of our soul
The term resilience originally comes from materials science: Flexible materials that return to their original shape after external influences are called resilient.
Applied to humans, the term means even more. Who survives the adversities of life or particularly stressful times, such as Dismissals, separations, time pressure at work or family disputes are not only resilient: Resilient people can even grow from crises.
What makes a person’s resilience?
Resilient people have certain characteristics that make up their mental resilience. These were summarized in the research on six resilience factors:
- Acceptance: Resilient people can accept what has happened to them and see problems and crises as part of life.
- Optimism: “Everything will change for the better” – this or something similar is an optimistic thought of a resilient person. Think positive makes people confident and resilient.
- Self-efficacy: Belief in one’s own abilities and competencies is an important cornerstone for mental resilience. Resilient people are sure that they can deal with and solve crises and problems independently.
- Individual responsibility: Resilient people are willing to take responsibility for their lives instead of seeing themselves as victims of the circumstances. They endeavor to solve any problems on their own responsibility, even if they have not caused them.
- Network orientation: Friendships give strength in crises. Resilient people build social relationships and openly accept support and help in difficult times.
- Solution orientation: In every crisis, there are usually ways that help us to emerge from it stronger and to learn something from them. Resilient people are guided by solutions and try to implement them.
The foundations for resilience are laid in early childhood and explain why certain people are mentally more resilient than others. However, it is possible to actively work on your resilience as an adult.
So you can train your own resilience
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Resilience is like a muscle that can be trained. Based on the six resilience factors, we give three practical tips that you can use to strengthen your resilience.
# 1 Accept that living means change and handle crises with confidence
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Assume that life is up and down. Mindfulness is a way to build acceptance. If you are careful, you can survive crises without sinking into a whirlpool of negative thoughts and feelings. In addition, an accepting attitude promotes a life-affirming and confident attitude and thus your optimism.
To strengthen your resilience, you can start meditating regularly.
Here are some tips: Learn meditation: tips for beginners
# 2 Believe in your skills and make decisions
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Especially in difficult times, you should be aware of your strengths. They help you stay confident. Remember how you have mastered crises in the past. Do you tend to see yourself in a rather negative light? You easily forget what you have already done?
Start writing a success diary.
Every night, write down what you did well that day. If you run the risk of forgetting your own skills, you can read in this diary what you have already achieved. Remember your skills in times of crisis. Then you can make a conscious decision about what you can do to solve your problems. You take responsibility for your life and train your resilience.
# 3 Seek ways to solve your problems and accept help
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Before you give up, think about how other people would react in such a situation. Take your time and try to find as many solutions to your problem as possible. Write them all down.
Choose a solution and then decide to implement it.
In addition, do not be afraid to ask friends for help in difficult times. Maybe one of them was already in a similar situation. Trust your partner or family. And accept the help offered. In very serious cases, professional help may be the solution for you.
You don’t have to solve every problem on your own.
Resilience means resilience, not toughness
Some believe that the key to resilience is resilience. Putting on more work, holding out longer, not showing anything or solving every problem on your own. That is a fallacy. It does not make us more resilient, but leads to excessive demands. The path to resilience is different: relaxation.
The secret is to use your own psychological resources sustainably. Less workload, less pressure to succeed, more breaks and sometimes To say “no” to an additional task.
Because muscles need relaxation to grow. To be prepared for difficult times, it is important how we savor the good times in our life and how we keep ourselves mentally healthy.
Take your time and enjoy the beautiful moments in your life.
Whether it’s a good meal, time with your friends or a nice sunset. You can draw on these memories when things are not going so well. At the same time, they serve for mental relaxation.
Conclusion: actively solving your own problems and regular recovery promote resilience
Every problem and crisis in your life gives you the chance to grow and learn. Take this chance and solve your problems independently. This gives you strength and self-confidence and strengthens your resilience. Treat yourself sustainably at the same time: Use times without crises to relax and enjoy life at its best.
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