The Principles and Components of Building Resilience by Melanie Zepeda
Currently, building resilience is one of the most compelling topics in the study of traumatic stress (Nugent et al., 2014). Traumatic events can happen to anyone at any time, however, being able to foster resilience in the face of adversity can help you with recovering from the negative effects of experiencing trauma. The American Psychological Association defines resilience as the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult situations and challenging life experiences through mental, emotional, and behavioral adjustment to both internal and external demands (APA, 2018). When it comes to building resilience, there are many methods to do so. One of the ways to start is by being informed of trauma-informed care. Trauma-informed care can help establish a safer space for individuals and can strengthen care networks to address holistic needs (National Council for Mental Wellbeing, 2014). Trauma-informed care is based on 6 principles:
Safety
Trustworthiness and transparency
Peer support and self-help
Collaboration
Empowerment and choice
Cultural, historical, and gender issues
When using these 6 principles from trauma-informed care, a safe environment to help someone who has experienced trauma is established, which is a great start to building resilience.
Although building resilience can help a person recover from their traumatic experiences, it does not mean a person won’t experience distress or hardships, especially when they have experienced major trauma. According to the American Psychological Association, building resilience focuses on 4 core components: connection, wellness, healthy thinking, and finding your purpose/meaning (APA, 2020). Here are some ways to follow these 4 components of building resilience:
Connection: Prioritizing relationships and joining support groups can help an individual who has experienced trauma feel like they are supported and are not alone. When going through a traumatic event, it can feel as if you are alone. Peer support groups and relationships help individuals feel they are not alone and create relationships with other individuals who have experienced similar traumatic events.
Fostering wellness: Participating in self-care and prioritizing your health can help strengthen your body to adapt to stress from your experiences. Also, avoid seeking negative outlets, such as drugs and substance use. Being able to have resources to help manage your stress rather than seeking to eliminate the feeling of stress through negative outlets can help.
Healthy thinking: Being able to tell yourself that the traumatic experiences you have experienced are not an indicator of how your future will go can help with the overwhelming feelings from traumatic experiences. As the APA says, you may not be able to change what you have experienced, but you can change your response to your experiences (APA, 2020)
Finding your purpose/meaning: Creating realistic goals that you can accomplish can help with finding your purpose. You can foster a sense of self-worth by helping others or connecting with other individuals, which can help you grow in resilience.
By using the 6 principles of trauma-informed care and utilizing the core components of fostering resilience, an individual will be able to adapt to their experiences and become resilient in the face of adversity. Although the topic of resilience in the face of adversity is a topic that is still being researched, using the basic ideas of fostering resilience is a good way to start helping individuals who have experienced trauma.
Fostering Wellness for Busy College Students by Phoenyx
Wellness, as defined by the American Psychological Association is a “dynamic state of physical, mental, and social well-being” (n.d). Wellness isn’t simply about preventing or treating illness and disease but promoting mental and physical health. Additionally, while physical health is part of wellness, it’s more than just that. There are many aspects of our lives that contribute to our physical well-being. Specifically, the different dimensions of wellness are physical, emotional, occupational, intellectual, financial, social, environmental, and spiritual (Swarbick, 2006).
To college students who may be juggling several classes, work, and social commitments, it may seem difficult to meet each of these aspects of wellness. However, part of the concept of wellness is that these dimensions are all connected to and build on each other (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d.). For instance, students who are on sports teams not only benefit physically but also socially and emotionally from being able to interact with teammates and relieve stress. In other words, it may be worth prioritizing your wellness as a college student, as improving one part of your life can improve others. You can also implement wellness into your busy schedule in simple ways. For example, it’s recommended to get at least thirty minutes of physical activity each day. For some, this can mean joining a fitness club, but for others, it can be as simple as taking a walk around campus for half an hour. Here are some other resources you can access and use as a student when you may need some additional help!
One aspect of wellness is financial wellness. This can mean setting a monthly or weekly budget, managing debt, or opening a savings account. The idea of managing financial wellness can be intimidating for some students, so you can seek out additional support! UCI’s Basic Needs Center offers one-on-one financial wellness consultations. Here, you can go over things like budgeting and building credit. If you’re interested, you can find more information here.
Another dimension of wellness is occupational wellness. This can mean having a job or doing volunteer work that fits your values and gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride. While some might already know which careers match their values and know how to pursue them, others may still be exploring what’s right for them. If you need some help with this aspect of wellness, you can meet with UCI’s career education staff at the Division of Career Pathways! They offer quick 10-minute drop-in sessions as well as 30-minute virtual or in-person appointments. You can find more information here.
Overall, with how difficult college can be, setting aside time to meet these different dimensions of wellness can seem impossible. However, it’s important to keep in mind that each of these dimensions is connected, and improving one area can help improve others. You can take simple and small steps to implement wellness into your life and several resources are here to help you as a student.
Strategies When Facing a Challenge by Amanda Chen
It is not only important to understand what resilience means or mental wellness, but also to know how one can practice strategies when overcoming challenges. Acknowledging you are stressed or facing a difficult situation is significant in itself when recognizing that building resilience takes a lot of effort and time to experience growth and stronger connections with the people around you. Overcoming adversity is a challenge within itself and can in turn affect your well-being if you are not taking care of yourself or asking for help. (Alvord, M. et. al).
Understanding your strengths and hardships also involves understanding that the people around you are on their journeys of overcoming their challenges and that people have different methods to grow that may be different from your own. If you notice that someone you care about is struggling, you can reach out to them while keeping in mind their boundaries and being respectful. According to the APA, here are some tips for resilience, keeping such boundaries in mind when reaching out to others or overcoming challenges yourself:
Be in control: When overcoming hardship, it may be difficult to start your day or go to school, but completing small daily tasks one step at a time is an accomplishment in itself and shows a sign of growth. In other words, it may feel as if you do not have control over what you can and can’t do, however, recognizing that and taking control of your needs and passions a little bit every day is you practicing resilience.
Be kind to yourself: Experiencing stressful situations that involve emotional and physical changes may lead to even more stress and discomfort. It takes a lot of time to overcome such large and difficult challenges, and being kind to yourself and others, and acknowledging that building resilience will be difficult will assist in emotional and mental wellness.
Express yourself: It may be difficult to verbally express to someone what challenges you are facing, and to overall be vulnerable around others. Taking one step at a time, to understand or express your emotions differently would be through art, music, journaling, or anything creative. According to Stuckey H. et. al at the National Library of Medicine, creative arts or art-based interventions, such as expressive writing, engaging with music, and expression through body movement could help with psychological and physiological stressors. In other words, strategies to express how you are feeling could be creative through drawing, listening to music, dancing, or journaling about your days and what made you feel happy and what didn’t.
You can look through more tips and strategies here. Taking care of yourself and reaching out to your community could be difficult on its own. However, recognizing what you are struggling to overcome and what emotions you are feeling demonstrates your strength and growth to overcome a challenge you have never faced before. Taking each step one day at a time, giving yourself a break, and being kind to yourself is already great progress in building resilience and improving your wellness.
References
Alvord, M. et. al (2020, June 1). Resilience for teens: 10 tips to build skills on
bouncing back from rough times. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience/bounce-teens
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Wellness. In APA dictionary of psychology. Retrieved March 17, 2024, from https://dictionary.apa.org/wellness
APA Dictionary of Psychology: Resilience. (n.d.). American Psychological Association.
Building your resilience. (2020, February 1). American Psychological Association.
Fostering Resilience and Recovery: A Change Package. (2022, August 17). National Council for Mental Wellbeing. https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/resources/fostering-resilience-and-recovery/
Nugent, N. R., Sumner, J. A., & Amstadter, A. B. (2014). Resilience after trauma: from surviving to thriving. European journal of psychotraumatology, 5, 10.3402/ejpt.v5.25339.
Stuckey, H. et. al. (February 2010). The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2016). Creating a healthier life: A step-by-step guide to wellness. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sma16-4958.pdf.
Swarbrick, M. (2006). A wellness approach. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 29(4), 311-4. https://doi.org/10.2975/29.2006.311.314