Talking about building emotional resilience

[Former-Member]

Emotional resilience is the ability to adapt to stressful situations and cope with life’s ups and downs. The word ‘resilience’ comes from the Latin ‘resilio’ meaning to bounce back.

Resilience allows us to tackle or accept problems, live through adversity and move on with life.    A Japanese saying equates resilience with bamboo that is flexible and bends in strong winds as compared to other seemingly stronger trees such as the oak which can fracture under the same pressure.

I came across an image which gave 7 simple tips that can help us build emotional resilience which are based on an article by NA Sahadevan which I resonated with and wondered if anyone would like to join me in a discussion around them.

[Former-Member]

The first tip is to acknowledge your emotions and that we:

1. Recognise honestly every emotion you experience
2. Do not try to cover it or push it away

Along the way in my caring role I have experienced a number of emotions, some of them were intense at times and some uncomfortable but include feeling afraid, alone, angry, anxious, ashamed, compassionate, confused, discouraged, guilty, helpless, hurt, loving, pessimistic, protective, rejected and vulnerable.

What are some of the emotions that you have felt?

[Faith-and-Hope]

Hi @Former-Member @and anyone else here ..... 👋

Ling before I came into my current carer circumstances J was faced with an abusive e tended family situation that was passive-aggressive and chaos-creating.  Part of learning to make my way forward in this situation became what is identified here as Step 1, and I actually needed help to do it.  

The situation had raised emotioonal resoonses in me that were unfamiliar, and I really had no language to identify and express them other than deep distress, and a need to reach out for help to family and friends around me ...... who couldn’t really do anything other than listen.

One church friend took me

to see the pastor of

the church where I was attending Bible study, and he helped me to identify that I was actually angry ..... really angry - furious in fact - about the way I was being treated, and the complete disregard I had been met with in trying to sort the situation out.  My abusers were not interested in change or communication.

The first thing I had to do was acknowledge and sit with the feelings I was experiencing.  Neither part of that - the identifying nor the experiencing without covering or pushing away - was easy ...... but it is the path forward.

[Shaz51]

hello @Faith-and-Hope , @Former-Member 

great thread @Former-Member  xx

[Former-Member]

@Faith-and-Hope  has raised a good point that correct identification of our emotion/s is important.

I found this chart really interesting.

[Former-Member]

Great thread and discussion topic @Former-Member  ... as always.  😊

Interesting chart .. some days we go through the whole spectrum I think.

Sherry 

[Former-Member]

Love this @Former-Member . I heard an interesting line at a talk I was at a few weeks back. Someone referred to emotional resilience sometimes as a weather-beaten cliff face. It can erode over time. I certainly related to parts of that Thank you for this thread.

[starflame]

@Former-Member  Very powerful

[Former-Member]

@Former-Member, I think a few of us can relate to feeling that way - erosion control and revegetation the aim 😀.

[Faith-and-Hope]

Great chart @Former-Member 👍