On Resiliency

I’ve been thinking a lot about resiliency recently. My thoughts have evolved several times regarding this topic. I originally thought that traumatic events and hard experiences could make someone stronger. However, a few years ago I heard or read that there aren’t any psychological studies or scientific evidence to support that claim. In fact, the opposite might be true.

Needless to say, that really disrupted my thinking about how resilient I might be after all. Especially in light of some of my mental and physical injuries that I have had in the past couple of years: i.e. my mom’s suicide, achilles tendonitis, whiplash from a bad jump, and losing some friendships due to life circumstances.

Am I really resilient? Am I weaker or more fragile now?

In preparation for an upcoming Army school I started listening to the Resiliency series on the Waking Up app, and it is transforming my thoughts yet again. This time for the better.

One thing that particularly stood out: Just as our bones grow back and heal stronger than they originally before a break, so too can we bounce back after a trauma or psychological injury. Humans are incredibly resilient. Especially if that is the narrative that we choose to believe, and especially if we can ask for help from those around us.

We can be stronger. We can be more resilient. We will make it through all of this, together.

Perhaps all I needed was to change my thinking on this topic..

-The Poet of Windy Blue