Learn the underlying mechanisms required to develop psychological resilience realistically.
The business events industry entertained the idea of reopened borders. We think that we’ve become resilient because of the experiences we went through in 2020. However, are we underestimating the impact of living through uncertainty over an extended period? Will we have the stamina to face the uncertain demands of the new future?
In light of the Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we produced a three-part series on resilience with Tara Schofield, Lecturer & Learning Designer at The School of Positive Psychology. Tara uses evidence-based positive psychology to design a toolkit that helps individuals prepare for economic recovery.
In this episode, we look at how understanding our negative emotions can help us build psychological resilience. Tara explains what resilience is and isn’t, where it comes from, and how recognising and accepting what we feel can help us develop and build resilience like a muscle.
Often, we are told to stay positive or approach difficult situations optimistically. However, whether you are an individual with high or low resilience, we produce varying reactions when faced with the same circumstances. While positive emotion is essential for our mental well-being, Tara says research has proven that staying positive is more draining on us; being positive during hard times requires more effort and can become more damaging for people.
“It can be uncomfortable and unpleasant to feel big emotions like anger, fear or sadness. But negative emotions, like positive emotions, are sources of information helping us make sense of a situation… feeling those negative emotions when a situation calls for them is being aligned to being aware of yourself, and that’s a great step towards building resilience,” Tara elaborates.
Listen to the full conversation below to discover the types of thinking traps we fall into and how to harness our negative emotions to spur positive actions.
Featured image by Sydney Sims on Unsplash
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