Don’t Get Angry or Depressed, Get Resilient!

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By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

I enjoy reading Men’s Health magazine each month. The editors and writers do a fantastic job of researching a wide range of topics and presenting great workout ideas, simple tasty recipes and a fair number of inspirational stories about men that have overcome cancer, emotional issues and serious accidents.

Last month, the August issue carried an article titled, When the Warrior Returns Home here. In the article, the author describes the use of resilience training for combat troops. The armed forces are employing psychologists to give the troops resilience training is an attempt to help soldiers better communicate (without overreacting) to family and friends after returning home from combat. Resilience training also helps soldiers deal with the effects of being in combat: being able to handle the emotional stress of watching buddies get blown to bits in front of them and of the possibility of capture or death during deployment. How well does resilience training work? Pretty well. Read the article to learn more.

If resilience training works for combat troops to avoid Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, can it help you and me? Sure it can. Whether you are fighting a tough reorganization environment at work, the stress of having a new baby at home (or two or three!), long-term unemployment or managing long commutes and frustrating traffic, resilience training may help you, too.

How do you get resilience training? Men’s Health gives tips on this page to show you how to better manage your own emotions and avoid the health costs of overreacting, high blood pressure and mental stress.

MayoClinic has a great article on Resilience training here.

Or you can visit a Licensed Psychologist or Counselor that specializes in resilience training.

Check out the Chicago Center for Family Health here. Their website says that their “collaborative, resilience-promoting approach identifies and builds on clients’ strengths, helping them to manage persistent stress and recover from life crises. Our goal is to enhance the functioning and well-being of the families, couples and individuals with whom we work.”

Or i the Chicago area, you may want to contact Michele Dubuisson, LCSW. In her web page she says that ““My areas of expertise include depression, anxiety, relationship issues, grief, and trauma. My approach to therapy is grounded in the belief that we are all resilient, each of us has unique strengths. I work with my clients to build on these strengths, increase their insight, and develop the trust needed to achieve their goals. I do this by providing a safe space in which you may process your experiences, express your feelings, challenge unhealthy relationship patterns, and develop self-awareness.I work with my clients to understand triggers that may contribute to stress and to develop healthier coping skills. My clients appreciate my down-to-earth, relational style, and collaborative approach to therapy.” Contact Michele via this link.