resilience – Be Well Solutions

Shared Care: Building Wellness Through Connection

While caring for our health and wellness is our personal responsibility, we can often achieve our goals and create lifelong habits with the help of those around us. Studies have shown that social connection can increase longevity, strengthen the immune system, improve recovery, and boost mental health, while a lack of connection can cause physical and psychological health to diminish (Stanford Medicine1). The following ways can be used to build wellness through community, relationship, and connection. Find Support and Encouragement Establishing healthy habits that last can feel like a lifelong journey. Finding support along the way provides encouragement and reinforcement. Working with others and sharing our experiences can make the process feel less lonely. Even the strongest habits can go through seasons of obstacles and difficulty. Creating connections with family, friends, and coworkers helps us work through life's hardships while [...]

How Community Can Impact Our Stress Management

As humans, we experience stress as a natural part of life. How we react, respond, and manage stress can greatly affect our physical, mental, and emotional health. Research from the American Psychological Association found that while loneliness can negatively influence health and wellness, “social support bolsters resilience in stressful situations.” Seeking out community and meaningful connections can positively impact our stress management efforts. Ease the Fight or Flight Response During stressful situations, our body’s natural reaction is to ‘fight or flight’. This can protect us from harm or prepare our bodies to fight in an emergency. However, when daily stressors continuously activate this system, it can begin to negatively impact our physical and mental health. Communicating and engaging with others helps us calm this action, so we can respond appropriately and thoughtfully rather than mindlessly or impulsively. The support of [...]

Building Resilience: How to Bounce Back from Life’s Challenges Stronger

Life can be full of unexpected twists and turns. How we respond often determines how well we recover and develop resilience in the face of adversity. Resilience can be defined as “an individual’s ability to positively cope with stress and adversity – bouncing back to a previous state of normal functioning, or using the experience of adversity to enhance flexibility and overall functioning” (Cornell University Health1). Building resiliency does not mean you will avoid future hardships, but it does help shape your response during those difficult times. It allows us to thrive and grow, regardless of what we face. Resiliency is not something that can be obtained overnight; it is something that needs to be practiced, cultivated, and developed over time. Find Purpose A sense of purpose can give us the motivation and will to push on through tough times. [...]

Tags: #mentalhealth, adaptability, communitysupport, copingstrategies, EmotionalWellbeing, lifechallenges, mentalfitness, mentalstrength, mindset, personalgrowth, purposefulliving, resilience, SelfCare, StressManagement, wellness|

Work-Life Balance and Your Health: 8 Tips on How to Avoid Burnout

Many of us are juggling heavy workloads each day. It can often feel like responsibilities between work and home continuously pile on with no end in sight. Over time, these demands can leave us feeling burnt out. Burnout can affect us physically, emotionally, and mentally. It brings feelings of extreme exhaustion, which are typically the results of prolonged or chronic stress. Here are eight tips to recognize and avoid the road to burnout. Recognize the Warning Signs Stress affects each of us differently. Perhaps during times of stress, you notice muscle tension or headaches. You may experience changes in appetite, mood, or sleep patterns. These are personal warning signs that alert you to how stress is impacting you physically, emotionally, or mentally. Recognizing individual warning signs can help you manage stressful situations early and healthily. Set Boundaries Know your physical [...]

The Power of Gratitude: Turning Stress into Positivity

Stress can quickly accumulate each day, making it difficult to maintain positive thoughts and feelings. Practicing gratitude is a proven way to find calm amid tension and turn negativity into a more positive perspective. Choosing a gracious attitude can be a beneficial tool for managing stress. Consider the following tips to harness the power of gratitude and turn your stress into positivity. Reflect Press pause on the everyday hustle and bustle, and take a moment to reflect on the good things in your life. Even during the most challenging times, there is always something to be thankful for. Consider starting a gratitude journal where you write down people, accomplishments, memories, pets, or other objects you are grateful to have in your life. The things you reflect on could be large or small, complex or simplistic. Shifting our focus to the [...]