Some things have happened over the last few weeks in my family that I’m not comfortable sharing in detail, but they’ve prompted this post. As my kids get older I’m finding the need to protect their privacy is more and more important. So you’re getting the philosophical musings without the details, sorry!
Resiliency
What do people mean when they use that word? The dictionary defines it as:
“an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change.”
Emotional resilience versus resiliency
If you’re talking about emotional resiliency, it’s slightly more nuanced. Emotional resiliency refers to how people deal with stress or crises. It’s not just the ability to adjust easily, it’s the way we react to situations, respond to people in our lives, and how optimistic or pessimistic we are about a situation. As every person is different, the ways we handle these problems are unique to you. Where some people find that speaking with a family member or friend can help, others may start looking for alternative medicines that have been known to be effective, such as CBD oil to help relieve some of these negative emotions. Regardless of the option you choose, it is important that you do what is best for your mental and physical wellbeing.
Giftedness and emotional resiliency
Gifted individuals often struggle with resiliency for multiple reasons. We can see the reality of the situation (existential depression,) we may not handle people or stress well (social anxieties or conflict avoidance,) and we often lack a strong sense of perseverance because we may not be used to fighting through challenges.
I’m not saying all gifted individuals share the same struggles or issues. Everyone is different! I’m pointing out that some of the challenges of living with giftedness often go hand in hand with lower emotional resiliency.
What does emotional resiliency look like?
Strong emotional resiliency means that someone can have a bad day but hope the next will be better. It means they can are aware of their feelings and what those feeling mean, making them more empathetic towards others. People with strong emotional resiliency learn from their mistakes, and don’t have a “victim” attitude towards adversity.
Emotional resiliency is a life skill, and something that’s important to teach our kids. It’s not something that you have or don’t have – everyone has some level of emotional resiliency, and can develop more. Call it a critical life skill that we all need to have more of!
Developing emotional resiliency
I’m not any sort of expert on this kind of thing, so I’m simply going to share an article on developing emotional resilience instead. It’s something I’m working on with my family as well as myself. We all need to be able to handle stress and adversity, to not crack and break under pressure. Gifted or not.
Homeschooling2e 