by Yasmin Elliott, Head Writer On the daily, our lives are filled with uncertainties and trials that often test our limits. Whether it’s an unexpected deadline or a global pandemic, there truly is no way to perfectly plan for every circumstance. Humans are, however, very resilient and this allows us to face these uncertainties without too much distress. Resiliency factors can improve our happiness and well-being because they help us in the face of adversity. In fact, there are activities we can engage in to enhance our resilience. What follows is a review of resilience, its neurochemical basis, and some practical activities you can engage in to enhance your well-being and resilience! What is Resilience?Recently, the term “resilience” has been thrown around quite a bit, perhaps because of the shared stress we collectively faced during the pandemic, but what do we mean when we say someone is resilient? Essentially, resilience refers to the ability for individuals to adjust to experiences of change, loss, risk, and adversity. Being resilient does not mean that someone never experiences stress, emotional pain, or suffering, rather it means that the individual can work through these stressors (Hurley, 2020). It has been proposed that resilience can be defined by five core principles including gratitude, compassion, acceptance, meaning, and forgiveness (Hurley, 2020). Further, every individual has a set of resiliency factors, some of which might include social support, the ability to plan realistically, self-esteem, coping skills, communication skills, and emotional regulation (Hurley, 2020). Resilience is an important concept to consider in each individual, given the uncertainty that persists in our lives. Understanding the Neurochemical Factors of ResilienceResilience is an extraordinarily complex construct and it is influenced by multiple genetic, epigenetic, developmental, psychological, and neurochemical factors. Here, I will discuss aspects of the neurochemical basis that are involved in resilience to help us understand how to foster and further develop existing resiliency factors. From a neurochemical perspective, we are concerned with the various neurotransmitters and hormones that work in tandem to produce a state of homeostasis in our brains that help us adapt to stress. For example, neuropeptide Y, a chemical messenger that produces anti-anxiety effects, has been an associated protective factor for individuals as it helps us cope with stressors (Wu et al., 2011). One human study found that for individuals who experienced uncontrollable stress brought on by military training, higher levels of neuropeptide Y were associated with improved performance and responses to stress (Morgan et al., 2002). Moreover, when we are under a great deal of stress, our noradrenergic system increases the release of norepinephrine (aka adrenaline) to areas of the brain involved in emotional behaviours (Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005). Dopaminergic systems have also been implicated in stress responses and, correspondingly in resilience. When people are stressed, dopamine is released into the prefrontal cortex, and then inhibited in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region associated with reward pathways (Charney, 2004), thus individuals facing stress experience decreases in rewarding, positive feelings. Finally, there is evidence that BDNF, a neurotrophic factor expressed in brain regions involved in mood and anxiety disorders like the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and basal forebrain, is implicated in resilience. More specifically, the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus has shown promise in contributing to resilient adaptations to chronic stress (Taliaz et al., 2011). Evidence-Based Ways to Promote Resilience in Our Daily LivesNow that we understand what resilience is and some of the neurochemical factors implicated in the development of resiliency in the face of stress, let’s investigate some things that we can all implement into our daily lives to promote well-being and resilience. Social Support When faced with major life adversities, the act of seeking social support has been associated with flourishing mental health (Ozbay et al., 2008). Consequently, maintaining close connections with friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, or the larger community can be a fantastic way to promote mental health and well-being. Physical Exercise Physical activity has a multitude of positive effects, one of which is that it promotes positive psychological well-being and mood. Physical exercise has demonstrated promise in affecting some of the earlier discussed neurobiological factors of resilience. This evidence comes from both animal (Fleshner et al., 2011) and human studies (Wittert et al., 1996; Winter et al., 2007). Mindfulness Mindfulness is another practice we can employ in our daily lives to promote resilience and maintain optimal mental health. Improving our trait levels of mindfulness can help prevent ruminative thinking, low mood, substance use problems, and other avoidant coping strategies individuals might be tempted to use in the face of adversity (Thompson et al., 2011). Overall, we will always inevitably face stress, emotional upheavals, and adversities in our lives, that is just a part of the human experience! An important takeaway, however, is that we are all resilient in our unique ways, and there are practices and self-care tactics that you can implement into your daily life to promote and enhance resilience and well-being. Yasmin is an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph, a Fourth Year Rep on the Psychology Society, as well as a Head Writer on GetPsyched! Are you interested in submitting a post to GetPsyched? Make sure you fill out our submission form and send it back to us so we can showcase your ideas! Edited by Daniella Mayer. References
Aston-Jones, G., and Cohen, J. D. (2005). An integrative theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function: adaptive gain and optimal performance. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 403–450. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709. Charney, D. S. (2004). Psychobiological mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability: Implications for successful adaptation to extreme stress. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(2), 195-216. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1176/appi.ajp.161.2.195. Fleshner, M., Maier, S. F., Lyons, D. M., & Raskind, M. A. (2011). The neurobiological of the stress-resistant brain. Stress, 14, 498-502. https://doi.org/10.3109/10253890.2011.596865. Hurley, K. (2020, December 11). What is resilience? Your guide to facing life’s challenges, adversities, and crises. Everyday health. https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/resilience/. Morgan, C. A. 3rd., Rasmusson, A. M., Wang, S., Hoyt, G., Hauger, R. L., and Hazlett, G. (2002). Neuropeptide-Y, cortisol, and subjective distress in humans exposed to acute stress: replication and extension of previous report. Biological Psychiatry, 52(2), 136–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01319-7. Ozbay, F., Fitterling, H., Charney, D., and Southwick, S. (2008). Social support and resilience to stress across the life span: a neurobiologic framework. Current Psychiatry Reports, 10(4), 304–310. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1007/s11920-008-0049-7. Taliaz, D., Loya, A., Gersner, R., Haramati, S., Chen, A., and Zangen, A. (2011). Resilience to chronic stress is mediated by hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The Journal of Neuroscience, 31(12), 4475–4483. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5725-10.2011. Thompson, R. W., Arnkoff, D. B., & Glass, C. R. (2011). Conceptualizing mindfulness and acceptance as components of psychological resilience to trauma. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 12(4), 220-235. https://doi-org.subzero.lib.uoguelph.ca/10.1177/1524838011416375. Winter, B., Breitenstein, C., Mooren, F. C., Voelker, K., Fobker, M., Lechtermann, A., Krueger, K., Fromme, A., Korsukewitz, C., Floal, A., Knecht, S. (2007). High impact running improves learning. Neurobiology Learning Memory, 87(4), 597–609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2006.11.003. Wittert, G. A., Livesey, J. H., Espiner, E. A., & Donald, R. A. (1996). Adaptation of the hypothalamopituitary adrenal axis to chronic exercise stress in humans. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 28(8), 1015–1019. Wu, G., Feder, A., Wegener, G., Bailey, C., Saxena, S., Charney, D., & Mathé, A. A. (2011). Central functions of neuropeptide Y in mood and anxiety disorders. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 15(11), 1317–1331. https://doi.org/10.1517/14728222.2011.628314.
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