Resiliency is our ability to manage and recover from stressful and challenging life experiences. Resilient individuals bounce back from life’s challenges and see challenges as opportunities for growth rather than a setback. Being resilient promotes our social and emotional wellness and positively impacts our health and ability to learn. Research has highlighted resiliency to be associated with higher levels of social skills, problem-solving skills, self-efficacy, and a sense of optimism about their future.
Our childhood environment and experiences play an important role in our resilient set point, either contributing to protective or risk factors. A resilient individual works to increase protective factors and find support to decrease risk factors. Protective factors include developed emotional regulation, nurturing parents, strong social connections, and safe neighbourhoods.
We all have the ability to increase our resiliency!
Activities to support your resilience:
- Learn about Growth vs. Fixed Mindset
- Find a peer mentor to check in with
- Engage in activities that provide a sense of meaning and purpose
- Understand your strengths
- Discover activities that help combat stress
- Practice self-compassion
Workbooks to support your resilience:
The Social Wellbeing Workbook is a tool designed to inform Carleton University students about social wellbeing in a self-driven manner. Ultimately, this tool aims to increase feelings of belongingness and reduce homesickness amongst students. The workbook includes explanations of major contributors to social wellbeing, interaction questions and journaling prompts, and helpful campus resources.
To get your copy of the Social Wellbeing Workbook, click here.
We recommend viewing Our Brain: Journey to Resilience in addition to completing the Social Wellbeing Workbook, to support you to increase your resilience.
