Resilience

Resilience

I’m a person who usually has lots of energy, but I’m always tired lately. I’m also a worrywart, which I know can contribute to chronic fatigue. I know I should stop worrying but with so much to be bothered by how do I stop?

I recently finished reading “Clara’s War- One Girl’s Story of Survival” by Clara Kramer. It is an amazing true story of love, strength, confidence, purpose, trust, and hope in a time of almost complete cultural annihilation and ethnic cleansing by Nazi genocide. It was the early 1940s. Not that long ago. The book details how Clara and her family survived living in a dirt hole, a rat hole really, under a house for two years. They hid so they wouldn’t be killed for being Jews. Eighteen people endured two years of terror, filth and starvation in a dirt crawl-space bunker. They were resilient.

How does one be resilient? The Mayo Clinic’s experts suggest these key practices:

Cultivate Connections. Build strong, positive relationships. (Love)

Foster a Positive View of Yourself. Be confident in your ability to solve problems and trust your instincts. Practice Self-care: exercise, sleep, engage in hobbies. (Strength)

Embrace Change and Manage Stress. Accept change as part of life. Learn techniques to manage stress. Deep breathing, yoga, quietness and meditation. (Confidence)

Focus on Control and Purpose. Identify what you can influence and focus your energy there. (Purpose)

Reflect and Learn from Experiences, yours and those of others. Identify coping strategies. (Trust)

Maintain perspective. Reframe, or look at situations in a broader context rather than viewing them as insurmountable and keeping a positive outlook. (Hope)

That’s exactly how Clara did it. Her resilience enabled her resistance. She lived to be 91.

Be Resilient and Resist!

Janet Jeffery, Gold Beach