If there is one thing beyond doubt in life, it is this concept: facing uncertainties and coping with change throughout life’s stages is a universal experience. The uncertainties may be personal, or they may be global uncertainties tied to the political winds.
Life’s unexpected course changes take many forms. Death of a loved one, health problems, relationship troubles, traumatic events, and unexpected accidents affect everyone in their unique way. What they have in common is that they produce strong emotions, uncertainty about the future, and turbulent thoughts.
The trick to handling life’s stresses is to seek internal stability by coping with change with resilience. The medical community defines resilience as a process in which individuals adapt to stressful events. Whether it is financial concerns or employment issues, resilient individuals weather the storm and develop strong intrapersonal skills along the way. Traumatic changes often result in personal growth as a side effect of resilience. Resilience helps individuals create control over difficult external situations. Resilience allows individuals the fortitude to modify their trying circumstances.
Anyone May Become Resilient
People whose actions display resilience do not live a magical life without stress or trauma. They frequently encounter the same types of external forces of change that everyone faces in a lifetime. The difference lies in the way resilient people approach the changes.
Resilience may sometimes exist as a personality trait; however, frequently an individual’s resilience involves instances of behavior modification, positive thoughts, and altered actions. People can learn the art of navigating transitions with serenity.
Many people think of resilience as an extraordinary personality trait. But if everyone can learn resilience, then it is an ordinary human trait. The following paragraphs describe several elements that help foster resilience.
Emphasize Personal Relationships
Isolation in the face of trauma is not an appropriate response. People in traumatic or stressful situations should surround themselves with help and understanding from those who care about them. From going to dinner with friends to a special occasion with family, it is crucial to keep welcoming trusted people.
It is also important to seek out and join support groups that focus on an individual’s particular stress points. Support groups encourage action and corroborate feelings, while attendance at faith groups can increase and foster an individual’s hopes for a better day.
Making the Effort to Stay Healthy in Body and Mind
Stressful events affect the physical body as well as the mind. That means it is crucial to maintain a healthy body by eating healthy meals, keeping hydrated, and getting enough restful sleep each night. It is also critical to exercise each day to burn off stressful energy.
Praying and keeping a daily journal can foster positive thoughts. Positive thoughts keep the body healthy.
It is also important to avoid negative influences, such as substance abuse. Drugs and alcohol merely cover up the pain in the mind or the body, but do nothing to alleviate the stress that causes the anxiety or depression. Drugs and alcohol also weaken the physical body of the strength it needs to become resilient.
Foster Connections and Seize Purpose
People living in stressful situations often report that their life feels without purpose. Reaching out to help others go a long way to foster connections and identify purpose. For example, volunteering in clothing drives, serving at food banks, or helping in faith-based community kitchens that feed the hungry can help form new friendships and instill the feeling that a person has a purpose. Helping other people takes the negative focus off the self and helps prepare the mind for resilience.
Take Positive Steps Toward a Goal
When an anxious or stressed person does nothing to try to support mental health during a change, it’s easy to see how they may become depressed. They may perceive the situation as hopeless. If, however, they set a goal and work towards that goal, they anticipate better times ahead.
Goals require forward-thinking. Working toward a goal is an active process and makes a person feel more powerful. Just the act of setting goals feels like gaining control over adversity.
Successful attainment of goals requires an analysis of what it will take to reach the goal. It is helpful to include intermediate steps that make the goal seem more realistic and attainable. Small accomplishments create powerful incentives.
Prayers Are the Oldest Grounding Tool
Prayers require no special equipment. Prayers do not require special music or a leader. Prayers just need faith and a willing heart.
Prayers may take place in a group with members of a faith community. On the other hand, a person may sit alone in a darkened, quiet room, close both eyes, and utter a heartfelt prayer for guidance to set them on a path toward resilience.
For over two thousand years, people have relied on prayer to guide them on the true path toward healthy living. Do not underestimate the power of prayers to settle the mind and heal the body. Relaxation, stress, and anxiety relief follow. Faith and prayer relieve feelings of isolation, of hopelessness, and helplessness. The tricky part is to retain that feeling throughout the day.
The Natural World Heals, Too
Prayers heal the body, mind, and spirit. Immersing the body in the natural world connects the mind, body, and soul. In moments of stress, just touching the soil feels wonderful. And it is so easy to do.
Stand on the grass, remove footwear and socks, those manmade disconnects from the Creator’s clay. Press the feet into the grass and feel it tickle the toes. Concentrate on the coolness of the soil. Slowly feel the release of the body’s tension, from the tip of the head down through the toes. Inhale and exhale deeply.
Remain standing. Stay quiet and listen to the sounds of nature all around. Feel the body in this relaxed state for as long as necessary or desired.
Relieve Stress by Relaxing the Body
There is another technique to put muscles into a restful state. Start with the toes and work upward through all major muscle groups until the full body is at rest.
Relax each muscle group, taking deep breaths. Deep, controlled breathing helps cleanse the lungs, relaxes the body, and quiets the mind.
Breath from the diaphragm, slow breaths. Count slowly while breathing in, holding the breath for several seconds, and then slowly releasing the breath back out. Slow the breath count by increasing the number of seconds each time the body takes a breath. In a matter of minutes, the body’s nervous system calms down and resets.
Making an Effort for Healthy Thinking
Try to develop the attitude that obstacles in life are merely challenges that the mind has not overcome. This is an example of positive thinking.
Positive thinking means keeping one’s perspective on stressful events. Sometimes people imagine every stressful event as a disaster. Such negativity only breeds feelings of hopelessness. With perspective, mental health during a change becomes not only possible but attainable. Changing the attitude toward a stress event leaves open the possibility for a positive outcome.
Be practical. Being honest about the chances of meeting certain goals leaves open the possibility for modifying the goals, creating new goals, and anticipating new aspirations for success.
Seeking Professional Help When Feeling Stuck
Occasionally, a person may feel they do not know which way to turn in a given situation. They feel stuck when trying to address a stressful event in their life. That is the point when professional help can make the difference between success and failure, between helplessness and resilience.
Parents and other family members or friends may assist in selecting a professional therapist by encouraging research into potential mental health providers. They can help the person understand whether they have insurance that will cover such treatment. They may provide financial assistance, if necessary. The supporter community’s main objective is to help the stressed person find a counselling practice that can provide the group or individual therapy the stressed person needs.
Moving Forward
If you or someone in your community seeks psychological therapy, Refinery Counseling Services stands ready to assist with group or individual therapy sessions. Our experienced staff can help:
- Teach skills to weather personal life challenges,
- Smooth anxiety related to re-entry into civilian life from the military, and
- Assist in building resilience skills to withstand the uncertainties surrounding everyone in today’s climate.
We invite you to contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced therapists. We will show you how our team will help with the relevant issues. Our approach will take into account your personal goals and individual needs.
We can help you function again in daily living activities. We have years of experience dealing with mental health challenges resulting from traumatic life events, military service trauma, or exhausting anxiety. Take the first step today. Begin coping with change.
