Resilience

November 4, 2012 at 1:35 am · Filed under Healing from Trauma

One major characteristic of persons who heal most is their ability to be resilient. What does this mean?  The following checklist contains numerous characteristics that combine to form resilience.

• I have a good self – concept
• I have good self-esteem
• I am sensitive to others needs
• I am generally co-operative with others
• I am socially responsive
• I have a good sense of humour
• I am able to postpone getting my needs met ( I can delay gratification)
• I am generally flexible
• I can control my impulses when I need to do so.
• I believe in the future and plan for it.
• I have a good support system
• I recognize that I have many opportunities in life available to me.
• I respect individual human beings.
• I respect appropriate authority
• I am able to look for more than one solution to a problem.
• I am able to plan ahead.
• I have hobbies and interests beyond my traumas.
• I have a positive view of life and see life’s joy’s (as well as sorrows)
• I can problem solve and have a strategy which I use.
• I have a sense of spirituality.
• I celebrate myself regularly.
• I celebrate others regularly.
• I believe that I have some level of control over myself and others.
• I would rather take action than wait for something to happen to me.
• I am able to find meaning even in bad things.
• I am someone others like and love.
• I am able to find someone to help me when I need it.
• I can ask questions in a creative way.
• I have a conscience that allows me to see my own goodness.
• I have a “knowing” about things that happen to and around me.
• I can disengage and separate from others if they are not good for me.
• I can attach to others and connect.

How many of these traits were you able to check. If you find that you can still check only a few, you may want to build your resilience, you need to monitor and observe how you interact with the world. See just when and how you use humour. When you are presented with a problem, try to come up with at least two solutions, and then weigh  the pros and cons until you can make an appropriate choice between the solutions. You may want to try new hobbies or activities to broaden yourself. You also may want to work out your spiritual side to a greater  or become connected with nature.

Taken from The PTSD Workbook

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