top of page

HOW TO BUILD STRESS RESILIENCE

WHAT IS RESILIENCE?

 

Resilience is the ability to recover from stress quickly. Simply put, it's recovery. Developing resilience is the key to being able to manage stress in a way that minimizes the harmful physical and mental effects of prolonged exposure to stress and burnout. 

WHAT IS BURNOUT?

 

The World Health Organization has recently updated its definition of burnout as a "syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed" and the three major symptoms.

​

  1. Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion

  2. Increased mental distance from one's job or feeling negative about one's career

  3. Reduced professional productivity

Suffering from burnout?
complete the

WHY WORRY ABOUT BURNOUT?

PHYSICAL EFFECTS

  • Higher rates of musculoskeletal pain

  • Higher rates of heart disease

  • Obesity

  • Diabetes

  • Sleep disorders

  • Headaches

  • Prolonged fatigue

  • Weakened immune system

  • Higher rates of hospitalization

  • Higher mortality rates

MENTAL EFFECTS

  • Higher rates of depression

  • Insomnia

  • Anxiety

  • Higher rates of mental disorder treatments

  • More likely to be hospitalized for mental health symptoms

  • Higher rates of suicide

  • Higher rates of mental breakdown

OCCUPATIONAL EFFECTS

  • Lower job satisfaction

  • Higher rates of presenteeism (coming to work sick/not being productive at work)

  • Higher rates of absenteeism

  • Higher turnover rates

  • Decreased productivity

  • Lower work "culture"

  • Increased healthcare expenditure

  • Increased disability claims

HOW TO BUILD STRESS RESILIENCE

The stress response is an automatic physiologic response that is designed to warn you about the presence of danger and prepares you to fight or flee for your survival. It's controlled by the autonomic nervous system and activated by the sympathetic portion of that system. It's actually your friend because without it you would be less able to respond to threats in your life.

 

Because it is a physiologic response, using physiology to balance out stress and recover is the key to building resilience. This can be done with science-based methods that activate the parasympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system. Maintaining the health of this system is the key to quickly recovering from the stress response and through that process you build resilience.

Building Resilience​

  1. Get adequate support and resources

  2. Use evidence-based balance strategies

  3. Review, revise, repeat​​

PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVATION TECHNIQUES

PSNS Techniques

  • ​RF breathing

  • Diaphragmatic breathing

  • Diaphragmatic breathing

  • Alternate nose breathing

  • Demands vs Resources Balance Visualization

  • Heart-Mind Coherence Technique

  • Affect Meditation

  • Rhythmic muscle contraction/release

  • ​Looking at nature/being in nature

  • Cold water immersion

  • Walking a dog

  • Massage/physical touch

  • Humming/singing

  • Laughing

  • Dancing

REAL-TIME TOOLS

Building Resilience Resources
colton-sturgeon-6KkYYqTEDwQ-unsplash.jpg

Building

RESILIENCE

Mindfulness Tools
​
Resilience Assessment
​
Burnout Assessment
​
How to Reduce Stress with Breathing
Video instruction discussing the stress response, stress resilience, and how to build resilience with breathing techniques.
Find additional video resources on our YouTube Channel
Resources and Support for Teachers
Additional resources for educators to help them avoid burnout and build resilience specifically designed for those in education.
Practical tools that can be used in the classroom to assist teachers help their students to become more resilient.
Schools and districts play a vital role in teacher wellness. Evidence shows that programs work to improve teacher health and improve classroom outcomes. Here you will find additional ways administrators can help develop resilience in their fight to win the battle of burnout.
Resources and Support for Employers
M_AS_339750354.jpeg

Improve health, culture, productivity, and profits

"Every dollar invested...

yielded $6 in health care savings."

- The American Journal of Cardiology

Presenteeism is productivity loss resulting from

real health problems and it costs employers two to three times more than direct medical care costs.

"Healthy employees cost you less."

- Harvard Business Review

Custom wellness programs designed for your employees specific needs.
Burnout Screening Tool

BURNOUT RAPID SCREENING TOOL

Please read the following statements. Click the circle next to the number that best indicates your feelings about the statement. 

6

Every day

5

A few times a week

4

Once a week

3

A few times a month

2

Once a month or less

1

A few times a year

0

Never

I feel burned out from my work.

1   |    2    |    3

Have time to take a more in depth burnout assessment with interpretive results?

bottom of page