The ads make it look so easy to be a teen – everyone seems to be laughing, hanging out with friends, wearing exactly the right clothes. But if you’re a young adult, you know that life can be pretty tough sometimes. You may face problems ranging from being bullied to the death of a friend or parent. Why is it that sometimes people can go through really rough times and still bounce back? The difference is that those who bounce back are using the skills of resilience.
The good news is that resilience isn’t something you’re born with or not – the skills of resilience can be learned. Resilience – the ability to adapt well in the face of hard times; disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes or fires; tragedy; threats; or even high stress – is what makes some people seem like they’ve “got bounce” while others don’t.
What are some tips that can help you learn to be resilient? As you use these tips, keep in mind that each person’s journey along the road to resilience will be different – what works for you may not work for your friends.
Resilience is the ability to successfully manage life and adapt to change and stressful events in healthy and constructive ways. A resilient person is not just born with characteristics than enable them to cope and deal with adversity. Rather resilience is affected by the quality of interactions within the family, school, and other social environments.
Resilience is something that can be taught and nurtured in young people. Most experts agree the building of a resilience starts at an early age. However there is a lot that can be done during later childhood, adolescence, and adulthood to promote resilience in an individual.
One of Australia’s leading experts on resilience in young people Andrew Fuller has compiled a list of 10 ways that parents can build resilience in young people.