Our Quest for Resilience should not stress us out

Ok, Let’s face it; there’s a lot to stress us out there these days, and at any given moment we may find our resilience waning. Why are some people just more resilient than others? We all know of those, famous and otherwise, who have survived tremendous trauma because of their resilience in reshaping their own world. Is it possible for the rest of us to cultivate a greater resilience in what we all know to be a difficult environment?

Citing a landmark study by psychologist Victor Goertzel in 1962, Dr. Meg Jay has suggested that resilience as a quality of life, is less learned than innately possessed by the individual. But does that mean that we are left with no antidote for the trauma that invades our personal world? The dictionary defines “resilience” as elasticity, that is, the ability to recover quickly and easily– to snap into shape again, like a rubber band stretched and released. Jay’s research and thirty years of practice have provided her some keen insights into a problem that shows no evidence of decreasing. Among the findings:

1. Much of the success in the lives of those deemed “resilient” comes from an internal drive to fight or resist the pull toward despair and defeat.
2. Sometimes it’s the development of problem-solving skills that account for the ability to rise above the fallout of a troubled childhood, or the horrors associated with a family crisis or a crime.
3. Surrounding ourselves with people who care about us is important because it supplies needed support, encouragement, and connection found in the consistency of a normal world.
4. The ability to cope with stress can improve with practice.

According to the research of Dr. Richard Dienstbien, when stress seems manageable, we perceive it as a challenge, and adrenaline– which boosts energy, focus, and coping– is released. When the stressor seems unmanageable, however, we perceive it as a threat and our cortisol levels rise too, suppressing our immune system and making us more vulnerable to disease. ( WSJ Sat-Sun, November, 11-12, pg. C-2)

So yes, I do have some thoughts on this, as well as a few Spiritual take-aways to contemplate.

First of all, Knowing Scripture well puts our souls in touch with the truth of God, thereby providing us with the comfort of knowing that our battles and the stresses that accompany them are being shared by the person of the Holy Spirit and God himself. (John 16) “It is God who will fight with us.” (Ex.14:14; Deut. 3:22) Fighting the giant of stress can seem overwhelming until we realize that with God, we have a majority of ONE. Likewise, Scripture remains the best resource for the problem-solving skills necessary to survive in a fast-paced, post-modern milieu where the “right” response from the culture is likely to change with the wind tomorrow.

Secondly, resilience is much easier to sustain when we have people around us who love and support us. My daughter just called this morning and relieved some of the stress surrounding busy schedules and ongoing problems that arise in any given week. God, in his infinite wisdom, gave us family, friends, and the local church to bolster our support in times of emotional and physical strain. Why we don’t avail ourselves of them is a source of continual amazement to me.

And lastly, let’s not dismiss the value of practice. We wouldn’t think of trying to improve our times in a road race, or lowering our heart rate under extreme exercise in the absence of practice. It’s known as conditioning. Funny thing, about psychology. The advice curated from the leading psychological minds of the day suggests practice plays a part in our progress toward greater resilience. Who knew? After all, why should we be surprised by the value of practice when such religious fanatics such as the esteemed Dr. Paul of Tarsas, wrote his young colleague of Greek and Jewish descent to tell him that his most important exercises for his own development and everyone else was the time he spent in the “gym”, bringing under his control, the tools for godly thriving in a world that has lost its way. (I Tim. 4:1)

Here’s to your own good fight of faith ( I Tim. 4).

MJC.