Resilience: be able to adapt to life's misfortunes and setbacks.

When something goes wrong, do you tend to bounce back or fall apart?
When you have resilience, you can harness inner strengths and rebound more quickly from a setback or challenge, whether it's a job loss, an illness, a disaster or the death of your loved one.

In contrast, if you lack resilience, you tend to dwell on problems, feel victimized, become overwhelmed and turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse. You may even be more inclined to develop mental problems. Of course, resilience will not make your problems go away, but it can give you the ability to see past them, find enjoyment in life and handle stress better.

Resilience is the ability to roll with the punches. It means that although you encounter stress, adversity, trauma or tragedy, you still keep functioning, both psychologically and physically. It is not just 'grin and bear it'. It does not mean you ignore your feelings. When  adversity strikes, you still experience anger, grief and pain, but you are able to go on with your daily tasks, remain generally optimistic and go on with the life. Being resilient also does not mean being stoic or going it alone. In fact, you are able to reach out to others for support and is a key component of being resilient.

Resilience helps protect you against mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. It can also help offset factors that put you at risk of mental illness, such as lack of social support, being bullied or previous trauma. And being resilient can help you cope better with an existing mental illness.

These tips can strengthen your resilience.
1. Get connection. Build strong, positive relationships with family and close friends who can provide support and acceptance.
2.Find meaning in life. Develop a sense of purpose for your life. Have something meaningful to focus on can help you share emotions, feel gratitude and experience an enhanced sense of well-being.
3.Find humor. Humor is helpful at time.
4.Learn from experience. Think back on how you have coped with hardships in the past.
5.Remain hopeful. You cannot change what has happened in the past, but you can always look toward to the future. Find something in each day that signals a change for the better. Expect good results.
6.Take care of yourself. Tend to your own needs and feelings, both physically and emotionally.
7.Keep a journal. Write about your experiences, thoughts and feelings. It help you see situations in a new way and help you identify patterns in your behavior and reactions.
8.Work toward a goal. Do something everyday that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Even a small, everyday goals are important. Having goals helps you look toward the future.
9.Take action.Don't just wish your problems would go away or try to ignore them, figure out what needs to be done, make plan and take action.
10.Practice stress management and relaxation techniques. Restore an inner sense of peace and calm by practicing such stress-management and relaxation techniques as yoga, meditation, deep breathing, visualization, imagery, prayer or muscle relaxation.

Remember that resilience can help you enduring loss, chronic stress, traumatic events and other challenges. It will enable you to develop a reservoir of internal resources that you can draw on, and it may protect you against developing some mental illnesses or help you cope better with an existing mental illness. Becoming more resilient takes time and practice. If you do not feel you are making progress--or you just don't know where to start--consider talking to a mental health professional. With their guidance, you can improve your resilience anf mental well-being.

คำศัพท์น่าสนใจ
resilience   รู้จักยืดหยุ่นต่อชีวิต
relaxation  รูจักพักผ่อน
humor  อารมณ์ขัน
mental health problems  ปัญหาสุขภาพทางด้านอารมณ์ชีวิต
to focus on  ใฝ่ใจต่อ..
enhanced sense of well-being   รักษาอารมณ์จิตดีๆไว้
a reservoir of  แหล่งเก็บรักษา
a journal  การบันทึกประจำวัน
setback  ปัญหาต่างๆ/ข้อบกพร่อง
a sense of  accomplisment  ความรู้สึกว่าตัวเองนั้นได้ประสพความสำเร็จบางอย่าง
to harness  ควบคลุมปัญหา/จัดการกับปัญหาได้

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