Resilience: Definition, Benefits & How to Build It

Understanding The Difference Between Resilience And Resiliency

Overcoming challenges and bouncing back from difficult times is an important life skill. Psychological resilience and resiliency refer to our capacity to handle adversities, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant stress. However, while often used interchangeably, resilience and resiliency have some key differences.

Defining Psychological Resilience

Psychological resilience is the ability to positively adapt and bounce back when something difficult happens in your life. It is a dynamic process that allows you to move forward in a positive way despite facing serious hardships. Resilience means finding healthy ways of coping psychologically, emotionally and physically. It is often referred to as your inner strength, grit and fortitude in the face of crisis or trauma.

Understanding Resiliency Theory

In contrast, resiliency refers more specifically to a theory within positive psychology focused on factors and characteristics that drive resilience. The resiliency theory aims to understand why some people have an enhanced capacity to bounce back from adversity. It looks at the thought patterns, coping mechanisms, behaviors, resources and social connections that make people more adept at overcoming challenges.

Key Factors In Resilience And Resiliency

There are a number of key factors tied to both resilience and resiliency including:

• Social support networks
• An ability to regulate emotions
• High self-esteem and confidence
• An internal locus of control
• Optimism
• Cognitive flexibility
• Active coping skills

These characteristics allow people to better handle stressful and traumatic situations. These factors make up a large part of resiliency theory and drive resilience capacity within an individual.

Why Developing Resilience Is Important

Having resilience can provide you with emotional, psychological and even physical benefits in all areas of life. Some major reasons why resilience matters include:

Improved Mental Health And Wellbeing

Resilience has a protective effect on mental health. It can help build self-esteem and empower you to understand that you have strengths to harness even during painful events. Resilience improves overall wellbeing and allows you to move forward.

Enhanced Ability To Cope With Challenges

Life is filled with loss, failures, crises and setbacks. Resilience enables you to navigate these while maintaining inner composure and coping effectively. Smaller challenges feel far less monumental and overwhelming.

Increased Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy refers to your belief in your ability to influence events and successfully achieve goals. It's a key part of resilience. When you can bounce back during hardship, you have an enhanced sense of self-reliance and competence to tackle difficulties.

Reduced Health Risks

Resilience can also lower health risks associated with distress such as high blood pressure, heart disease and mental illness. Managing stress adaptiveively through resilience strengthens your body's ability to thrive.

Developing And Improving Your Resilience

The great news is resilience isn't fixed and innate. Just like a muscle, you can build resilience through intention and consistent practice. Some tips for improving resilience include:

Expanding Your Social Connections

Meaningful relationships, community groups and social support systems help reinforce resilience. Seek out emotional support and compassion from friends and family when faced with hardship.

Working Through Emotions And Distress

Give yourself time and space to move through painful events or emotions as they arise. Avoid suppressing or bottling up trauma or devastating news. Allow yourself to fully process it.

Adjusting Thought Patterns

How we interpret adversity plays a major role in resilience. Look at your explanatory style and try to reframe negative thinking into more optimistic thought patterns when faced with crises.

Enhancing Problem Solving Abilities

Look for tangible solutions when confronted with difficult realities rather than getting stuck ruminating. Improving critical thinking and problem solving helps boost resilience.

Embracing Transformative Growth

Painful events often catalyze immense personal development. Look for hope, meaning and opportunities for growth during times of adversity.

The Difference Between Resiliency And Resilience

While resilience and resiliency are connected, understanding the nuances between them is important. Resilience refers to effectively overcoming hardship and using it for transformative personal growth. In contrast, resiliency focuses more on the underlying mechanisms and predictors that enable positive adaptation abilities.

In essence, resilience is the capacity and resiliency is why some people have greater capacity. Knowing the characteristics tied to resiliency can help you consciously strengthen your resilience. With consistent practice, resilience can grow over time. Remember that we all have an innate ability to follow positive trajectories even in darkness.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.