The following post is from our Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS) Tidbit of the Month series. Each month, the RCCS Steering Committee creates practices to support our recovery culture within our programs and among staff. Click here to learn more about the RCCS.

RCCS Tidbit of the Month: Gold Medal Resilience

A Component of the Five Awarenesses of the RCCS Program Culture

The recent summer Olympics have concluded, and once again, American athletes competed with excellence and brought home the gold. Sometimes, the stories of the individuals competing are even more compelling than the actual events. Resilience is a vital skill that enables individuals to overcome adversity, and just like an athlete, it can be developed and strengthened over time.

This was especially true this year. Simone Biles, gold medal winner in gymnastics, and Noah Lyles, gold medal winner in track and field, shared their stories of struggling with depression and anxiety. Other medal-winning gymnasts shared their recovery stories from kidney disease and multiple torn Achilles heel injuries. These stories of resilience and determination to achieve their hopes and dreams were heartwarming.

Understanding Resilience

Resilience is the strength and speed of our response to adversity. Resilience is the ability to come back from difficult times or events. There are actual skills we can build long before we face any kind of tragedy or difficulty. We can build resilience over time by changing how we process adverse events.

One such skill is called affective forecasting. Affective forecasting is about your ability to predict your emotional future. Research shows that people overestimate how bad and how long grief and pain will last. We frequently feel that we will never feel joy again – almost a state of permanence. One skill to move past permanence is focusing on our language. Changing those times where you use “a���ɲ����” and “n�𱹱��” into “s�dz���پ������” and “l���ٱ����.” No matter what happened to you or what you’ve been through, there will be another moment when you will laugh, and knowing that helps build your strength to get there.

Helping Clients and Members Build Resilience

The stories of the Olympic athletes reminded me of the resilience and recovery journeys of our clients and members. Their ability to progress despite setbacks, struggles, and trauma is amazing. However, our clients and members don’t always see themselves as strong or recognize the skills they have. In this month’s RCCS Tidbit, we highlight the RCCS Conversation Guide that program staff can use to help individuals identify their current strengths and take steps to grow additional strengths for their future.

Practice:

Your strengths are your talents and abilities—or talents and skills you may want to develop. We often don’t recognize our strengths because we take them for granted, but you have strengths. Among them are the things you do to get through the difficult times in your life. These are things you do well. Know your strengths. They will support you on your recovery journey.

Areas to Explore:

1. How did I use my strengths in the past?

2. How do I use my strengths when tackling future challenges?

3. How can my strengths help someone else?

4. How can I build new strengths and skills?