Resilience: Protection against stress that is harmful to health
Resilience has become a fashionable term in certain circles. It stands for a protective effect against stress, depression and burnout. Resilient people are those who have enough strength, even in bad, very stressful situations, not to break down, but who, thanks to their own psychological resources and self-confidence, pick themselves up and tackle the future with confidence. Of course, this raises the question of whether such a characteristic can be trained.
The answer must be differentiated because the Resilience depends on various components that can be influenced to a greater or lesser extent. Within the framework of the external trust center for employees at AEH Zentrum für Arbeitssicherheit, Ergonomie und Hygiene AG who are confronted with psychologically stressful problems at work (e.g. conflict, Bullying, looming Burn-out), this aspect plays an important role. On the one hand, it is a matter of investigating possible causes at the workplace and also checking the extent to which the person affected has already taken advantage of support from specialists. On the other hand, however, factors are also important that are relevant for the personal Stress defense are of importance.
Personality traits
An important role is played by the personality traits that are unique to each person and can only be influenced to a limited extent. A distinction is made between the under-controlled, the over-controlled and the resilient type. The under-controlled type includes people who are outwardly oriented (extroverted), who appear lively, impulsive and sometimes aggressive to others. The over-controlled type, on the other hand, tends to be anxious, inwardly oriented (introverted), cautious, and defensive, whereas people of the resilient type tend to be extroverted, conscientious, agreeable, and tend to be open to new things. It is also known that resilience is positively influenced by increasing age.
You get to know yourself better and better and know about your own weaknesses and strengths so that you can better master difficult situations. At some point, your career is over and other values come to the fore. You want to catch up on what you have missed out on, have more time for yourself and do things that you really want to do. We are less controlled by others, less dependent on the praise and criticism of others, which reduces our susceptibility to psychological crises. It should be noted that age alone is no guarantee of a stress-free life.
Further info and text: AEH Center for Occupational Safety, Ergonomics and Hygiene AG
www.aeh.ch
