Becoming More Resilient - Part 2

September 18, 2012

Interview with Dr. Steven Southwick, author of the book Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges

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Mike Carruthers:
Bouncing back from adversity we call it resilience and it seems easier for some than others. So what factors influence how resilient you are?

Dr. Steven Southwick:
Maybe the strongest factor is having the type of social network that really supports you in high stress situations.
 

Dr. Steven Southwick, author of the book Resilience, interviewed Special Forces soldiers about how they bounced back from adversity.

So when we talked to Special Forces soldiers we might say, “Gosh you’re involved in some very harrowing situations you must be very brave.” They will often say, “No it’s not me it’s my squad, my squad is what makes me brave.” So we strongly recommend developing your own squad if you will of people you really trust, who really have your back and for whom you will help under situations of high stress. This has a big effect on the way your own stress systems respond to adversity.

Physical exercise has been proven to help build resilience and…

Knowing that you are doing what you believe is right particularly in difficult situations really fosters and helps with resilience has does altruism.

And resilient people are what Dr. Southwick calls “active copers”.

What we mean by active is they tend to gather information they acquire skills if they need skills, they confront when necessary, they make decisions.