The Importance of Resilience

The Importance of Resilience in Addiction Recovery and Life

"Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty."

― Thomas S. Monson

Regardless of who you are or where you live, everyone experiences hard times.

We will have loved ones die, jobs will be lost, and relationships may crumble - whether we like it or not.

Adversity affects us all.

The key is to understand that we cannot control the events that happen to us in life, but we have control over how we respond to those events. Adversity builds our Resilience - in the end, this will make all the difference.

Resilience = The process of returning from or adapting well to trauma, tragedy, threats, or extreme stressors – such as divorce, the loss of loved ones, job loss, severe financial problems, serious physical or mental illness, and others.

For anyone in recovery from addiction, a lack of psychological resilience almost guarantees an early relapse, because when hard times come, the dilemma you're always going to face do you go out and buy that bottle or that bag, or do you rise above it all and work through the hardship to emerge even stronger on the other side. 

For those recovering from addiction, resilience is essential, and you know you'll need as much of it as you can! Fortunately, whether you think you're ready for hard times, there are steps you can take today to improve your psychological resilience in preparation for tomorrow's trials. 

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), here are eight steps to improving your psychological resilience. 

8 Steps to a More Resilient You 

1. Accept Change as Inevitable 

Accept that circumstances sometimes force you to change your plans, goals, or expectations. For example, a car accident might jeopardize your goal of running a summer marathon. Still, a resilient person might adapt to the limited mobility of injury recuperation by refocusing efforts toward other more attainable goals, such as learning a foreign language or finally getting around to cataloging old family pictures and videos.   

Change is inevitable, but it only creates as much distress as you allow. 

2. Take Time Today to Strengthen Your Social Network 

In tough times friends and family can make all the difference. So spend time and energy today nurturing a base of supportive people around you so that you've got the safety net you need – should you ever need it. 

3. Accept That Few Challenges Are Undefeatable 

In moments of stress and crisis, it's easy to exaggerate the severity of the situation. Suppose you can look at things more calmly. In that case, you'll likely see that as bad as things are today that life will go on tomorrow - that time heals - and that if you act with as much purpose and optimism as possible, the future is likely to be a happier and brighter place than the darkness of today. 

Things will get better as long as you believe something will improve. 

4. Take Action 

Resilient people respond to crises with appropriate action, which helps end crisis situations. 

To improve your psychological resilience, work on becoming more decisive and taking appropriate measures to solve large and small problems. 

5. Work Towards Your Goal With Baby Steps

Resilient people know that goals are achieved through the cumulative results of many baby steps of progress. 

Make goals for yourself but don't get caught up in need to make great strides of progress. Instead, work hard to identify small achievable steps toward your goal and take action to accomplish forward motion every day. 

In times of crisis, the ability to accomplish small steps of forwarding progress, even when times are the hardest, is highly beneficial. 

6. Stay Hopeful and Optimistic 

The ability to believe in a better tomorrow is a hallmark character trait of resilient people. 

To become a more hopeful person, try this simple exercise: 

Whenever you worry about a situation that might occur, flip it around and practice visualizing the problem as you'd like it to turn out.

7. Look at Failures as Learning Experiences  

Remember that we learn through our mistakes and that intense experiences, even negative ones, can instigate positive self-growth. 

Consider how moments of crisis and failure in the past have led to the understanding and abilities you have today. 

In periods of crisis, reflect on how even harrowing experiences can produce very positive things; such as a death in the family rekindling a sense of spirituality or a child's substance abuse strengthens  the emotional bonds between a husband and wife. 

8. Take Care of Yourself 

Resilience requires optimism, decisive action, working towards achievable goals, and the ability to keep today in perspective and imagine the possibility of a better tomorrow. 

Unfortunately, people living on the outer edge of physical or mental health during the best times will feel even worse when times get tough. How can anyone muster the strength to overcome adversity when there's no gas left in the tank? 

For resilience, you need health and psychological wellness. So to encourage resilience – take care of yourself! Exercise, eat right, get enough sleep, and reserve enough time each day to do what you enjoy in life.

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