The Health Benefits of Resilience

Resilience is the ability of an individual to bounce back from adversity and move forward with life. In this chapter, the focus is on four elements of resilience and how they impact health. The four elements of resilience discussed fit into the GROW framework: good emotions, reason and purpose, others (support from and to others), and wellness flexibility. Each of these elements impacts health in a variety of ways. When patients have high levels of good emotions, a strong sense of reason and purpose, consistent support from and to others, and the ability to be flexible, be self-aware, and learn from mistakes, their health outcomes are better in a variety of diseases. This chapter includes evidence for the impact of resilience in cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic, kidney, and neuropsychiatric illnesses. Patients can improve their resilience in these 4 domains by practicing skills such as gratitude, identifying values and setting goals, yoga, conflict-resolution, building and deepening relationships, volunteering, and accepting one’s faults and failures and learning from them. Clinicians can encourage patients to enhance their resilience with simple interventions that might, in turn, improve their overall health and well-being.