Resiliency

Humans are inherently resilient

Why do some individuals exposed to stress, adversity, or trauma display positive psychological outcomes? Are some individuals more physically and psychologically resilient?  Resiliency is the adaptive ability to positively cope with physical and psychological stress. It appears that some individuals are born more resilient than others; however, most people can strengthen personal resiliency.  The resiliency factors such as hardiness, hope, social support, personality and coping found on the pages of this website can be learned and incorporated into your life to make you more resilient.

Based on Post-Traumatic Growth Theory, Lepore and Revenson (2006) painted a very creative image of resiliency using three trees describing resiliency as (a) recovery, (b) resistance, and (c) reconfiguration. They concluded that resiliency is both a process and an outcome.  

Recovery is described as a severely wind-blown tree that bends without breaking, and after the wind stops, returns to its original shape (prestress functioning). This form of resiliency involves psychological “elasticity.” One example of this type of elasticity or flexibleness is the palm tree which whips back and forth in the most severe storms; yet when the storm is over, even though some palm branches may break off, the palm returns to its original shape ready for the next storm that comes along.

Resistance is described as a tree that appears unaffected by the wind; essentially, it stands strong. The mighty oak is a great example of a resilient tree that appears to be resistant to the effects of the storms of life.  Yes, some branches may break and other negative environmental factors may from time to time harm the tree; yet the resistant tree stands strong.

Reconfiguration is described as a tree that bends when blown severely over time, and because of the severity and prolonged nature of the wind and exposure to the raw elements of nature, changes shape to adapt or accommodate to the effects of stress.  These trees are reconfigured yet are very strong.  The windswept evergreen or live oak along the coast, subjected to the often harshest reality of nature are good examples of reconfiguration; however, they are very hardy, tough trees even when reconfigured by daily and extreme exposure to nature.

We all know how stressful life is, it may even seem unfair at times; however, you can strengthen your ability to cope with stress, strain, trials and traumas.  The Resilient Warrior Project's goal is to help strengthen your ability to be more resilient so you can do more than survive—you can THRIVE!   

The attached presentation was a webinar I gave for the Defense Center of Excellence Chaplain Working Group for the Defense Health Agency.  The audience were chaplains, health care providers and clinicians of all sorts.  The subject is "Resiliency and Providers."

Reference

Lepore, S. T., & Revenson, T. A. (2006). Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth: Recovery, resistance, and reconfiguration. In L. G. Calhoun & R. G. Tedeschi (Eds.), Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research and practice (pp. 24-46). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.