Resilience

I previously conducted “Resilience Skills Workshops” for undergraduate students at Azim Premji University to help build mechanisms and habits to deal with stress, and to thrive in adversity. Here are some resources I used for these.

Resilience (or bouncing back from the difficult sh*t life throws at you)

Emotional resilience can be developed by:

1. Recognizing the fact that our thoughts influence our actions
2. Acknowledging stress and be willing to effectively cope with it
3. Being open to changes and flexible while adapting to new situations
4. Accepting the truth that by changing the way we react to stress, a lot of difference can be made
5. Embracing the self by building self-compassion and empathy

How to build resilience during college

Wellness

The six dimensions of wellness are physical, emotional, environmental, social, intellectural, spiritual. I encourage my students to commit to at least one of these exercises as a habit.

1. Breathing. These exercises can simulate the relaxation response in the body. A five-minute breathing meditation to bring some calm, or mindful breathing
2. Gratitude. The science behind the powers of gratitude is pretty strong! Try this Three Good Things exercise, that takes about 5 minutes every day, or try keeping a gratitude journal
3. Self-compassion. Give yourself a self-compassion break a few times a week.
4. Exercise. Even a five-minute no-equipment workout can do wonders. Exercise snacks are good for you!

Cognitive Skills

1. How we respond to adversity depends on a set of underlying beliefs that we don’t recognize. Some of these are called cognitive distortions. Recognizing these thought patterns can help us respond to situations more intentionally.
2. The ABCD model. Adversity-Beliefs-Consequences-Disputation. (https://www.bjclearn.org/resiliency/PDFs/044109.pdf). These worksheets help us respond to stressful situations rationally not emotionally.