In this excerpt from the SPIEGEL bestseller „Stark durch Krisen“ you will find answers to the following questions:
- What exactly is resilience?
- Is there a precise definition of resilience?
- Can you train resilience?
- How can mental strength be developed?
- Are there risks with resilience?
What exactly is resilience?
Crises are exhausting. They demand a lot from us, especially as long as the crisis in question is acute. I am convinced that crises also have many positive aspects; we can learn a lot from them and grow from them.
Nevertheless, they require a great deal of strength and »inner strength« in order to succeed. This »inner strength«, known as »resilience«, refers to the psychological resistance of individuals or systems (e.g. teams and organizations) to internal and external stressors. It also refers to the ability to recover quickly and sustainably after adversity.
To date, however, there is neither a clear definition of resilience nor a uniform understanding of exactly which characteristics, skills or behaviors are meant by it.
The term resilience is derived from the Latin term »resilire« and means »to bounce back« or »to rebound«. It was first used in physics, more precisely in materials research, where it refers to the property of a material to either retain its original shape when subjected to mechanical stress or to quickly return to its original state after deformation.
We know and use this physical property in our daily lives. Think of a spring, for example: when we compress the spring, i.e. apply force to it, it deforms. However, its resilience is so high that it will always return to its original state as soon as no more external force is applied to it - it »resists« permanent deformation. As a result, it releases the force applied and »springs« back into its original shape. The spring therefore has a very high resilience.
In contrast, glass, for example, has a very low resilience: it breaks when force is applied.
The term resilience has also been used in psychology since the 1950s. Of course, the original physical definition cannot be applied to the human psyche without reflection. After all, our psyche is not a material that is mechanically deformed. However, the physical origin provides a good basic understanding of what resilience also describes in psychology: mental resistance to stress.
There are a multitude of possible stresses that we encounter in the course of our lives. The perception of their intensity and the individual strategies and possibilities for overcoming them are just as varied as these stresses. There is no one universal formula for dealing with stress or grief, for example. What helps one person only makes it worse for another. This is because our resilience always consists of an individual variety of personal characteristics, learned skills and situational behaviors. All of them are right, and their interplay is just as individual as each of us.
Resilience definition
This is why a clear definition of resilience is so difficult. Today, there are numerous definitions and models on the subject of resilience, some of which overlap more than others. However, most of them include different factors, consider different perspectives or emphasize the importance of different characteristics or skills. They all strive for a better understanding of this important psychological strength.
For example, Kalisch (2017) describes resilience as »the maintenance or rapid recovery of mental health during and after adversity«. In contrast, Masten (2016) tends to emphasize the aspect of adaptability. For her, resilience is »the ability of a dynamic system to successfully adapt to disturbances that threaten its function, viability or development«. Therapist Rosemarie Welter-Enderlin (2008) adds a developmental psychology perspective to the term and understands resilience as »the ability of people (...) to master crises in the life cycle by drawing on personal and socially mediated resources and using them as an opportunity for development«.
At their core, all definitions revolve around four key points for coping with stress (e.g. stress): Dealing with stress, reducing stress, recovering from stress, supplemented by »growth« or development after stress. The first three factors help to get through crises strongly, i.e. to remain mentally healthy during an acute crisis. The fourth factor is helpful in becoming strong through crises, i.e. growing from them and being better equipped for future crises.
How exactly this can best be achieved varies slightly depending on the model and perspective.
A frequently used model is that of »pillars«, which summarizes helpful characteristics and skills.
I call them »protective factors« because they have always protected me in the jungle as well as in my private and professional life.
My most important protective factors are: Acceptance, optimism, stress competence, self-efficacy, social support and fitness. Each of us has our own individual mix of these (or other) protective factors to deal with stress. The exciting thing is that pronounced strengths in one competence can compensate for possible weaknesses in another.
It is therefore not necessary to master every single protective factor. Rather, the existing protective factors resulting from personal resources and strategies should be used in a targeted and sustainable manner.
In any case, it is worthwhile looking at your own resilience. After all, it is now well researched that resilience not only enables people to cope with stress. Many other positive effects are also attributed to it. For example, people with a high level of resilience often have fewer physical complaints, recover more quickly after stress, adapt more quickly to change, suffer less from anxiety and depression and have a higher level of life satisfaction.
Resilience therefore has a clearly positive effect on people's physical, mental and social well-being. And the best thing is: resilience can be learned and trained!
The protective factors mentioned provide a very solid framework for orientation. After all, it is not about acquiring one way or one competence, but rather about recognizing, using and constantly developing your own resources, potential and strategies for dealing with stress.
Promoting resilience
An early, preventative approach makes sense, which is why resilience and specifically the promotion of resilience is also highly valued in child and adolescent psychology. However, professions that are subject to psychological stress, so-called risk groups, such as emergency and rescue workers or staff in intensive care units, can also benefit from targeted resilience promotion.
In recent years, I have unfortunately repeatedly found that, particularly in companies, resilience is merely understood as the ability of employees to suffer, i.e. the (questionable) ability to withstand increasing pressure and stress. This is often not primarily about maintaining or promoting the personal health of employees, but above all about ensuring performance (in terms of the company) under the most adverse conditions.
In my opinion, this approach falls short and is potentially even counterproductive. Stress levels are warning signals for potential crises that should be taken seriously - similar to a smoke alarm. As soon as it goes off, we don't simply remove the battery so that it goes off, but we start looking for the cause: smoke development (creeping crisis/stress), fire (acute crisis) or false alarm (individual resilience)? Only then does the question arise: is it necessary to specifically strengthen individual resilience, i.e. the resilience of employees? Or is it rather necessary to change the causes of the stress? Making employees more and more »resilient« is rarely enough - and can even be counterproductive. After all, what happens if the smoke detector no longer responds to an actual fire? The potential damage is immense. This is why managers in particular need to manage their employees» resources sustainably so as not to «burn them out" and to take stress indicators seriously as warning signals in order to eliminate the causes at an early stage.