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Our resilient nature- an illustration of a strong and peaceful person.

Resilience and Mental Health

anxiety depression Apr 16, 2024

In a recent episode (ep. #134) of the Joy Lab podcast, we talked about resilience and mental health. The good news is that we are all resilient and as we build resilience skills, we support our mental health. Watch the episode (below) and learn more about resilience under the video. 

 

 

What is resilience?

Researcher Dr. Catherine Panter-Brick defines resilience as a process to harness resources for sustaining wellbeing. Even more simply, it's our ability to get back up again after we encounter stress. Resilience is still present amidst struggles, hardships and even mental health diagnoses. One of the most important things to also know about resilience is that it is inherent in each one of us, regardless of our circumstances or past experiences. And as we get into throughout our Resilience Series (starts ep. #136), resilience is fluid in nature and it's essential that we nurture and replenish our resilience "container" to effectively navigate life's ups and downs.

When stress hits, are you a carrot, egg, or coffee bean?

Stress gets a bad wrap when it comes to resilience. It's not an immediate sword to our resilience. There's a great metaphor from authors John Gordon and Damon West, who describe what happens when boiling water (aka stress) take over a carrot, an egg, and a coffee bean. The carrot turns to mush (aka exhaustion), the egg hardens up (aka put on a happy face and suffer in silence), and the coffee bean actually creates something quite wonderful; a hot cup of coffee. This can be helpful to illustrate how we all respond differently to stress and adversity and how we can also practice skills to navigate stress better. As we aim to navigate stress more skillfully so that it doesn't become chronic, we can tune into our innate capacity for resilience and the transformative power that lies within us.

 

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Joy Lab and Natural Mental Health are community-supported. When you buy through the links below, we may earn a commission. That support helps keeps the Joy Lab podcast free for all!  

Sources and Notes:

Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program.

Please see our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at [email protected]. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

 

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RESILIENCE IS YOUR NATURAL STATE

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MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. See our terms for more information.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at [email protected]. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. 

 

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