World-renowned neuroscientist Richard Davidson has found evidence that mindfulness does increase resilience, and the more mindfulness meditation you practice, the more resilient your brain becomes. The emotional soup that follows a stressful event can whip up negative stories about yourself or others that goes on and on, beyond being useful. For example, if you have an argument with your partner before leaving for work, you can end up replaying that conversation all day, which continues to proliferate anxiety or low mood far more than is necessary. Mindfulness reduces this rumination and, if practiced regularly, changes your brain so that you’re more resilient to future stressful events. When I was a school teacher, sometimes the stress was incredibly high. I had SO much work to do and not enough time to do it. On top of that, dealing with difficult behaviour, demanding parents and requests from the management team, I certainly felt under pressure. Fortunately, I had mindfulness to help me cope with the challenges. And I later discovered that mindfulness and related strategies were helping me cope. There are several key aspects of resilience:
Positive relationships—is the most important factor. The ability to make plans and take action to solve problems. The capacity to manage difficult emotions—mindfulness is an important aspect here. Effective communication skills.
Here are five ways to build resilience: When it comes to resilience, flexibility is the name of the game. Discovering ways to adapt to the changes that life throws at you makes you more able to cope. Reflection: What simple action can you take to begin increasing your resilience? It can be as simple as picking up the phone and making a call every day.
