How to Build Resilience in Midlife

Difficulty to take feedback? Stuck in a standard answer? Feeling down at this stage in your life? Here are some of the ways you can build your resilience in middle age that I took from an article in the NYT. Sarah gives some good points, even though sometimes obvious, to give you a structured approach, just perfect to get you started!

■ Practice Optimism.

Dr. Steven Southwick, a psychiatry professor at Yale Medical School and Dr. Charney’s co-author, notes that optimism, like pessimism, can be infectious. His advice: “Hang out with optimistic people.”

■ Rewrite Your Story.

“It’s about learning to recognize the explanatory story you tend to use in your life,” Dr. Southwick said. “Observe what you are saying to yourself and question it. It’s not easy. It takes practice.”

■ Don’t Personalize It.

“Telling yourself that a situation is not personal, pervasive or permanent can be extremely useful,” Dr. Grant said. “There is almost no failure that is totally personal.”

■ Remember Your Comebacks.

“It’s easier to relate to your former self than someone in another country,” said Dr. Grant. “Look back and say, ‘I’ve gone through something worse in the past. This is not the most horrible thing I have ever faced or will ever face. I know I can deal with it.’”

■ Support Others.

“Any way you can reach out and help other people is a way of moving outside of yourself, and this is an important way to enhance your own strength,” said Dr. Southwick. “Part of resilience is taking responsibility for your life, and for creating a life that you consider meaningful and purposeful. It doesn’t have to be a big mission — it could be your family. As long as what you’re involved in has meaning to you, that can push you through all sorts of adversity.”

Source: New York Times, by Tara Parker-Pope

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/well/mind/how-to-boost-resilience-in-midlife.html?_r=3&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2F