Opinion Articles

*Fostering Resilience
By Frances O'Keeffe
Based in the Hunter Valley, Frances O'Keeffe is a Psychologist and member of Centacare Newcastle's counselling team. Centacare Newcastle is the official welfare agency of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

Do you ever have the overwhelming sense that life is becoming increasingly uncertain - fragile even - by the minute? We're constantly confronted by the messiness, confusion and unpredictability of life and the vulnerability of the human race.

We live on a diet of horrific headlines and images: war, earthquakes, bushfires, floods, droughts and numerous examples of natural devastation, bus, train, plane and even space shuttle disasters.

We can no longer depend upon our leaders: sports coaches, teachers, councillors, church representatives, politicians and business leaders. Their failings and limitations are paraded before us, gnawing away at our trust in each other.

And all this is just the relentless backdrop to what might be happening in our personal lives: difficulties in our relationships, work stresses, family pressures, coping with the serious illness or death of a loved one. People often comment that the world feels increasingly out of control.

So how long can we endure this onslaught? What is the effect of all of this on the human spirit and psyche? What prevents us from reaching breaking point?

In psychology and counselling literature we use the term "resilience" to explain people's ability to rebound from hardship and successfully adapt to stress. Resilience explains why sometimes people are able to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. It is the core competency that helps people cope with stress.

Resilience is determined by both the skills and characteristics of an individual, but is also influenced by the environment within which he or she operates. Resilience within a community is critical if it is to be able to support and develop individual and family strengths.

We know that a sense of commitment is an essential ingredient of resilience - commitment to family, to the community, to working it out. We also need to experience a feeling of cohesion - the balance between encouraging both the richness of individuality versus the bonds of togetherness.

To be resilient, we need to be adaptable. Through our experience of some core security such as the love of a partner, strong friendships or (on a community level) stable employment, we are able to be flexible and change. Communication is also a vital element of resilience - being open and accurate in our dealings with each other.

Our spirituality also promotes resilience. Spirituality means different things to different people. Perhaps it's something to do with the way we perceive life, the sense of living with a purpose, rising above self interest and believing in the value of life. It includes our beliefs and value systems.

Resilience is obviously something we all need not just to survive, but to live contented and fulfilling lives - despite the inevitable distresses we are faced with. Can we learn to foster it in ourselves and in each other? Can we feel more resilient by contributing to our community within our circles of influence? Can we try to think of the glass as half full rather than half empty?

Fostering resilience within ourselves has a positive impact not only on our own lives, but also on the community in which we live. Might we be more resilient than we think?

* This article was published in The Newcastle Herald, 13th May 2003.