Resilience Tip: One Thing at a Time

Posted on May 19, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

By now, you’ve probably been bombarded with one stress after another. And then you hear one way to handle it after another. Resilience isn’t about doing anything perfectly or all at once.

Sometimes picking one way to build resilience and focusing on that for a day or a week is the most effective way to feel accomplished and improve your well-being. Below are a few things to choose from to have the most impact on your mood and overall health:

• Deliberately focus on sleep this week. Have a regular bedtime, try a relaxing meditation, stretch, or listening to music for relaxing before bed. Try to go to bed five minutes earlier or set your alarm five minutes later. Any strategy that works for you to increase sleep even a bit is worth a special focus.
• Add a few steps to your regular activities today. Park farther away from work, walk around the block by yourself, with your family, or with your coworker instead of sitting. As long as you work toward a few more steps, you’re likely to do it well.
• Decide you'd like to work on resilience through connecting with others. Reach out to one friend, group or loved one this week via phone or in-person if it's safe. Even a few minutes with someone or a community group you are attached to can restore energy and well-being.

During these times, you may feel exhausted and overwhelmed, despite some positive news about COVID's reduced impact in our settings. For more information about stress relief during COVID-19, go to www.leadingagemncoaching.com.

At no charge, you can arrange virtual staff support groups through LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s COVID-19 Staff Coping & Support Line project. Contact Terri Foley at tfoley@leadingagemn.org or 651-815-8137.