Resilience
In the last few years, and especially since the global Covid-19 pandemic, we have been bombarded with stories, opinions and statistics that point to a “resilience crisis”, at least in the more economically developed countries. As a teacher and now as a counsellor, I meet and hear of people who report that they are finding it more difficult to meet (and integrate) the challenges of their lives. Here are three definitions of resilience one might find in a dictionary (my emphases): 1. n. the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. 2. n. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity . 3. n. the ability to successfully adapt to stressors, maintaining psychological well-being in the face of adversity The first one feels a little like a person might already have this quality in them (and I’m not sure that recovering “quickly” is relevant), while the other two feel somewhat like it's an action rather than a q...
