Not taking life or yourself too seriously is a beautiful quality to have. 
You feel it all, and that is actually a part of being resilient: being open and honest about how you are feeling. Let’s talk about a few resiliency traits and how they can increase our well-being as we get older.
Believing that this is only temporary: when we know in our heart and mind that whatever negative event or emotion we are going through is only temporary. The adage, “this too shall pass” is so very important. It is seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel. You know in your mind that things are going to get better, the darkness will pass. This helps us to have hope and to be able to see that the future will feel better. An example of this is when you change your job or even retire. It feels really strange at first, you might even feel sad or depressed because you are in a new space and you are mourning the loss of that familiarity. But you say to yourself, “It’s OK, I am supposed to feel this way. Things are going to get better.”
Identifying, talking about and feeling our emotions: Feel the feels! You can say, “Oh my gosh, I am so incredibly sad right now!” And then allow yourself to express that emotion no matter what. An example of this would be if you found out your loved one was transitioning to death. You receive the call while at work, in the car with two of your employees. Instead of holding the emotions in, you go straight into ugly crying while one of the employees is driving and the other is sobbing along with you. You are feeling a huge sadness and you are not going to hold that in. Let those feelings out! And this goes for all the emotions mad, sad, glad or scared. Like Madonna sang, “Express yourself!”
Moving our bodies/exercise: This is so important in many ways. First off, we have all heard the theory that exercise increases dopamine and serotonin. The fact of the matter is moving our bodies helps us to feel better. It increases blood and oxygen flow through our body and our brain. Yoga is an excellent way to move and also manage stress. When doing yoga, we are connecting breath with movement AND meditation. Meditation helps us to quiet our minds and decrease stress and anxiety. If you create a habit of moving your body daily, when a stressful situation presents itself, you will be in better shape both mentally and physically to handle it. Keep moving, go for a walk, take a yoga class and create that great habit!
Humor! Yes, laughter is the perfect prescription for snapping into a better mindset. Humor is a funny thing (hey, that was a good one). You can be crying one second and then you realize you are standing in the middle of a grocery store and you begin to laugh. And you know what? It’s OK. Not taking life or yourself too seriously is a beautiful quality to have.
Asking for Help/Support System: We all need help at times. There is never anything wrong with saying, “I need help, I can’t do this on my own.”
This is probably the most important trait because human connection, of any sort, is so very healing.
These are only a few examples of resiliency traits and behaviors. Please do some research and you may find that you are more resilient than you thought.
If you are a caregiver, you can encourage resiliency in the person for whom you are caring. One way they do this at the Margaret T. Morris Assisted Living Center is by doing daily exercises with the Life Enrichment Team. At the Susan J. Rheem Adult Day Center, the participants are constantly laughing and enjoying themselves while participating in games of all kinds. Quality Care, Quality Service, Quality of Life. QCBN
By Candace Lea
Candace Lea, MBA, is the community liaison and marketing person for Adult Care Services. She has worked in the human service and healthcare field for more than 30 years. She also is a local yoga teacher. To learn more about these programs, visit adultcareservices.org.
Leave a Reply