Building Resilience During Stressful Times
We’re told that stress management is something that gets easier with time. But whenever life throws an unexpected obstacle our way, we can feel overwhelmed with difficult emotions. To overcome them, we need to build up a sense of resilience.
First, a question: what is “resilience”, exactly?
Let’s start by defining what it’s not. It doesn’t mean that you cover your emotions with a layer of impenetrable armour. It doesn’t mean that you pretend not to feel what you’re feeling.
Instead, it’s about how you respond to those emotions. Knowing that we control that aspect of ourselves can be empowering.
What does resilience look like? Here are a few examples:
Letting go.
Certain life events can fill our hearts with feelings of dread, discouragement, and even despair. It’s hard to take the next step when you feel heavy with these emotions. Let yourself accept what you’re feeling—acknowledge it fully—and then start to envision what your next step might look like.
Adapting.
When things don’t go as planned, we need to think of ways to deal with hurdles and missteps. Even though many events are outside of our control, we can control how we react to them. Creating a new strategy can help you stay motivated to persevere.
Learning from your experiences.
Is there something positive that you can take from your hardships? A lesson learned can give meaning to an otherwise frustrating experience. Even if an event caused you to feel stress, at least you can say that you’ll be better-equipped to deal with such challenges in the future.
Stress Management
All of us have dealt with our fair share of stress over the past year. It might have felt like one nonstop rollercoaster.
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed in this life, it’s that unexpected events will happen. No matter how carefully we plan or how hard we work, things can go wrong. Often, it’s completely out of our hands.
It’s our resilience that helps us navigate these issues and come out with our heads held high.
Surrounding yourself with a positive support system.
While it’s helpful to journal our thoughts and feelings, it’s also beneficial to share them with close friends and family members. And who knows? Maybe you can find a way to laugh at or change your perspective on a trying situation.
The importance of our mental health cannot be understated. There’s no shame in seeking professional help when necessary. A trained therapist or counsellor can help you learn new coping mechanisms for the curveballs that life throws your way.
Taking it one day at a time.
Our ability to imagine possibilities can be adaptive, but it’s also overwhelming. It’s easy to get lost dwelling on what might happen or what could have been. But by building your resilience, you’ll have an easier time shedding these heavy thoughts.
Try to focus on the present rather than the past or future. Or, put your problem into perspective by asking yourself: Will this issue matter in 6 months from now? What about in 1 year?
Making time for yourself.
Resilience starts with self-care. Consider how each time you deal with a challenge, you come out stronger and wiser. But to meet those challenges, you need to take care of yourself. A sense of well-being will help you overcome the difficulties that you encounter in your daily life.
At Bare Body Sugaring in Winnipeg, we want to offer our support during these stressful times.
