Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Taking action to improve our resilience

Why do some people recover quickly from traumatic experiences while others go in to a spiral of negative emotions and reduced functioning? Dr. Donald Meichenbaum, one of the ten most influential psychotherapists of the 20th century,  has some answers in his new book "Roadmap to Resilience: A Guide for Military, Trauma Victims and their Families." Dr. Meichenbaum outlines six different areas of resilience and provides ways that we all can boost ours. For example: exercising regularly, giving back and helping others, expressing gratitude, journal writing, establishing realistic expectations and more. You can find a large list of suggestions on this checklist from the Roadmap to Resilience website.

If you'd like to hear more from Dr. Meichenbaum about resilience, particularly after a trauma, you can hear an interview Todd Finnerty, Psy.D. did with him on the first ever Mental Health Day podcast. Dr. Meichenbaum describes post-traumatic growth and the six domains of resilience. He also talks about ways that you can I can improve our resilience in each area. Check out the podcast now.

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