resilient wisconsin

Throughout our lives we all will and have experienced ups and downs, highs and lows. Feelings of loss or worry. A serious health condition or relationship problem. Stress at work or in the home. Even natural disasters and large-scale emergencies, like a pandemic.

These difficulties in life can make it hard to take care of yourself and the people around you. We build resilience by learning ways to cope with, and recover from, tough times. Without resilience we can become overwhelmed by trauma, toxic stress, and other health issues.

Many things can contribute to a person’s level of resiliency, such as childhood trauma or the risk and protective factors in their life, or even their surrounding community. The good news? Our ability to manage our health and the health of our community is not set in stone, it can improve. Similar to a muscle, resilience is a skill that we can strengthen at any time.

So, why is it important to develop resilience? Resilience helps us to bounce back from life’s challenges. Resilience gives us the best chance to overcome challenges and work through problems. Resilience can occur at the community or individual level. Our communities are facing more challenges than ever, we are seeing an increase in violence, natural disasters, and public health emergencies. By building community resilience, you can improve community health and overcome challenges. Resilience at the individual level helps to promote your overall health. Individual resilience helps you to be better prepared to adapt to and bounce back from life’s challenges.

There are many different types of resilience that we can develop including physical, mental, emotional, and social resilience. Physical resilience helps our bodies to overcome physical health challenges and changes, such as sickness or injuries. It can help to manage ongoing physical health issues. Mental resilience helps us to work through tough times by developing problem-solving skills. Emotional resilience can help us to respond to challenges that bring up negative feelings or emotions like anger, fear, or sadness. Social resilience gives us the ability to connect with those in our lives and communities so we can support each other.

Wondering how you can build resilience? Try these practices!

Lean on healthy relationships. Build a supportive network of people who care about you and spend quality time with them.

Take care of your body. It can be easier to maintain your mental and emotional health when you physically feel good. Make an effort to eat well, get enough sleep, and exercise.

Avoid harmful behaviors. Look for healthy ways to deal with difficult or strong emotions. Misusing substances to escape these emotions will create more stress.

Take charge. You may not always be able to control the circumstances around you, but you can control your reaction or response. Break problems that arise into manageable tasks and move forward.

Check in with your feelings. When stressful events occur, it is important to take a step back and reflect before we react.

Learn from the past. Reflect on past experiences and recognize who or what was helpful or unhelpful.

Ask for help when you need it. It is not always easy to ask for help, but knowing how to recognize when you need it and accept it is a sign of strength.

If you are looking for more information on resiliency or tips on how to build resiliency visit www.resilient.wi.gov today!

Jackson County: Healthy People, Strong Community.