Take our Resilience Test

Find a therapist near me

Resilience is more than just learning to bounce back from adversity.

It helps to learn coping strategies, but recognizing how the environment creates challenges is also important.

There is a difference between getting through challenges and allowing yourself to stay in unsafe situations.

Leaning on support, connection, and community is vital for enhancing resilience.

What do you think of when you hear the word resilience?

The number one answer is “bouncing back!” We often think of the person who keeps on going even when times are hard, or the person who gets knocked down and gets back up. They are the ones who adapt, find their way forward, and always keep it moving.

These days, resilience has become central in most conversations about mental health and well-being. We are all struggling with uncertainty, stress, change, and an overwhelming constant stream of information about what’s happening in the world. Science says that coping with difficult circumstances is an important part of taking care of ourselves.

The trouble is, sometimes we define resilience too narrowly. We focus more on whether someone can keep going and forget to ask, “How are you really doing?”

Research about resilience has raised an important question: Is adapting to difficult circumstances the same as being well?

Given all this is happening in the world, we have become pretty good at functioning under stress. We are able to go to work, take care of our families, meet most of our........

© Psychology Today