How does resilience impact well-being as people age? COOKIES FOR FIREFIGHTERS
This year has been one of adversity and challenge. For better or worse, we have made it through and learned along the way. We have made changes as individuals and families, as a workforce and as a community. These changes have been stressful and have required us to be flexible and creative. While the stress will continue into the new year, the two vaccines that received FDA emergency use authorizations this month provide a glimmer of hope that the new year will bring some semblance of normalcy. In our quest to overcome (or sometimes just muddle through) our challenges, we have further developed our ability to be resilient in the face of adversity.
What is resilience?
Resilience is the ability of an individual to bounce back from challenges or adversity.
Researchers in the field of resilience science seek to explain how and why some individuals do well as they encounter difficult situations while others do not. Much of this research has focused on understanding and developing resilience in childhood and adolescence. However, researchers are now learning more about how resilience in adulthood is positively related to well-being in later life.
What are researchers saying about resilience and later life?
We commonly hear about the negative impacts of chronic stress on our bodies, but did you know that the reverse is also true? Researchers from around the world are finding that resilience, or coping with adversity in positive ways, is associated with longevity, decreased risk of depression and greater life satisfaction! So what do these researchers recommend as strategies for developing resilience?
¯ Develop and maintain social connections. Supportive friends and family reduce the feeling of isolation and can act as a buffer from chronic stress.
¯ Learn and practice optimism. Identify a few specific things that are positive in your life. Write them down or commit them to memory.
¯ Laugh often. Laughter can be a powerful stress reducer. Watch a funny movie, read cartoons or spend time with someone who knows how to start you laughing.
¯ Meditate. Meditation can be as simple as slow, focused, deep breathing that creates a relaxation response.
¯ Express gratitude. Identify someone for whom you are grateful, then express your gratitude to them.
¯ Learn more about resilience. Many of the ideas in this article are addressed in more detail at the following locations:
Harvard Health Letter, “Ramp up your resilience!”, http://go.hawaii.edu/FL3.
Cambridge University Press, “Healthy ageing, resilience and wellbeing,” http:// go.hawaii.edu/3La.
Aging & Mental Health, “Encounters with adversity: A framework for understanding resilience in later life (Abstract),” http://go.hawaii.edu /bL3.
How have you demonstrated resilience this year?
The following activity will require some paper and a pencil. You may choose to complete it on your own or with a friend. Think about then write your responses to the following statements. If you are completing with a friend, share as you go:
1. List three challenges you encountered this year.
2. Identify who or what helped you face the challenges.
3. Write positive things you learned about yourself or others from these challenges.
4. Identify what you would do differently if you faced these challenges again.
Here is to a resilient end to 2020 and may the new year bring with it health and safety.
Heather Greenwood Junkermeier is with the University of Hawaii Manoa Cooperative Extension, Maui Intergenerational and Aging Programs. Aging Matters covers topics of interest to the aging Maui community and appears on the third Saturday of each month.
St. Anthony Senior Kaylee Marie Silva visited eight Maui Fire Stations on Nov. 27 to pass out cookies that she baked and say thank you to the firefighters. Fire station locations included Makawao, Paia, Kula, Wailea, Kihei, Kahului, Wailuku and Kahului Airport.