According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress such as family, health, etc. It is the act of ‘bouncing back’ inspite of barriers or set backs.
There are three ways in which people face adverse situations viz.
1. consider oneself as a ‘victim’ and hence indulge in self pity or anger
2. get overwhelmed by negative emotions like fear, anxiety, etc., which makes them vulnerable to physiological and psychological collapse
3. become upset about the disruption and experience a sense of loss, pain, grief, etc.
However, they understand that setbacks are a part of life. Hence, they work through these feelings in ways that foster strength and growth. Sometimes, they may emerge stronger than they were prior to the setback. Such persons are called Resilient individuals.
The four types of resilience are:
(i) Physical resilience – It is the body’s ability to adapt to challenges, maintain stamina, and quickly recover when faced with illness, injury or other physical demands.
(ii) Psychological resilience – It is developing coping strategies that enable one to adapt to uncertainty, challenges and adversity and to move on without prolonged negative consequence. The person can remain calm and focused during stressful situations.
(iii) Emotional resilience – It refers to the ability to manage one’s emotions by adequately using one’s resources to cope with adversity and stress. It is the ability to understand what one is feeling and why?
(iv) Community resilience – It is the ability of groups of people to respond to and recover from adverse situations such as natural disasters, epidemics, war, economic hardships and other challenges to their community. This is mainly due to strong connections or bonds that community members have with each other.
