Resilience is the personal ability to cope with, adapt to and grow from challenges, trauma and adversity (1). Resilient people can make and complete realistic plans, view themselves and their strengths positively, have good communication and problem-solving abilities, manage a full range of emotions, and engage in self-care (2). Furthermore, resilience involves post-traumatic growth, which is a positive psychological change after experiencing adversity (3).
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Resilience can protect mental health, and higher levels of resilience are associated with decreased depression and anxiety in children, young people, and adults (4,5). Post-traumatic growth is also a protective factor and has been linked to facilitating recovery from psychosis (6).
An individual’s resilience can vary from situation to situation over the life course. Resilience is a dynamic process, not a stable trait, and it can be strengthened.
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References
1. Mind, Mental Health Foundation. Building resilient communities, Making every contact count for public mental health [Internet]. 2013. Available from: www.mind.org.uk/publicmentalhealth
2. American Psychological Association. Building your resilience [Internet]. 2012 [cited 2021 Jan 15]. Available from: https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience
3. Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG. Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence. Psychol Inq [Internet]. 2004 [cited 2021 Feb 4];15(1):1–18. Available from: /record/2004-11807-003
4. Moore B, Woodcock S. Resilience, Bullying, and Mental Health: Factors Associated with Improved Outcomes. Psychol Sch [Internet]. 2017 Aug 1 [cited 2021 Jan 20];54(7):689–702. Available from: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/pits.22028
5. Shin YC, Kim SM, Kim H, Min KJ, Yoo SK, Kim EJ, et al. Resilience as a protective factor for depressive mood and anxiety among Korean employees. J Korean Med Sci [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2021 Feb 4];34(27). Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31293112/
6. Slade M, Rennick-Egglestone S, Blackie L, Llewellyn-Beardsley J, Franklin D, Hui A, et al. Post-traumatic growth in mental health recovery: Qualitative study of narratives. BMJ Open [Internet]. 2019 Jun 1 [cited 2021 Jan 21];9(6):e029342. Available from: http://bmjopen.bmj.com/
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