Psychological and emotional resilience is Definition and levels

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Emotional stability is a very valuable quality, property, skill of a person, which is extremely necessary in the modern world. A person who does not have it is exposed to a variety of stimuli throughout life, which negatively affects his life and morale.

This topic can be discussed for a long time, but now only the most important aspects that concern it should be touched upon.

Definition

First you need to understand the terminology. It is believed that emotional stability is a property of a person, which manifests itself in varying degrees of sensitivity in relation to psychological stimuli.

However, this definition is not the only one. It is also believed that this term refers to the non-susceptibility of emotional processes and states to the destructive influences of external and internal conditions.

Accordingly, this quality minimizes the negative impact of strong emotional upheavals, prevents stress, and also contributes to the appearancereadiness to act in any tense situations.

It is important to make a reservation that although the topic concerns psychology, it directly affects the physiological aspect. Because emotions practically at one moment combine all the functions of the body into a single whole. They are a signal of harmful or beneficial effects. And emotions are triggered before the localization of influences and the response mechanism are determined.

Specificity and correlation with temperament

Many are sure: emotional stability is what a person was born with. Some people perceive certain situations, surprises and changes more coolly. Others are acutely aware of almost every more or less emotional event.

This even in infancy and early years can be seen in the behavior of the child. As a rule, this quality is stable throughout life. It is believed that its specificity varies depending on gender and age.

You can say that emotional stability is a psychophysical quality. And it depends largely on temperament, which is also innate. Of course, it can be corrected by changing living conditions and adhering to certain principles of education, but global changes will not be achieved.

Temperament has a number of properties. These include tempo, strength, rhythm, switchability of mental processes, as well as stability of feelings.

A choleric person, for example, tends to react violently to everything that happens around, unlike a phlegmatic person. That,in turn, it can fall into a stupor at a crucial moment and then sway for a long time. Is it possible to consider him emotionally stable in this case? Not at all. Of course, one should not expect violent reactions on his part, but this does not mean at all that the person successfully coped with stress and emerged victorious from the situation.

Thus, emotional and psychological stability is not determined only by temperament. In many ways, it depends on the person's self-regulation skills. But this is exactly what you can learn.

What does the reaction look like?

Since we are talking about the ability to emotional stability, it is necessary to consider the very mechanism of manifestation of this quality.

Let's say a stressful situation arises. Here's how the person who is emotionally stable experiences it:

• The emerging "task" in the form of stress generates a motive that entails the performance of certain actions aimed at its implementation.
• There is an awareness of the difficulty that caused the negative emotional state.
• A person begins to look for a way to help him overcome it.
• The level of negative emotions decreases, the mental state improves.

Let's say a person lost his job for some reason. This is certainly stressful, as his usual way of life is disrupted. A person is aware of this fact, as well as the fact that while he sits idle, he will not be able to earn money. He feels bad, but he understands perfectly well that inaction and immersion indepression won't work. Therefore, a person begins to search for a source of income. Having returned to his usual way of life, he, as they say, exhales with relief.

This is an example of emotional-volitional stability. How are things in the reverse situation? The first two steps are similar. But then a person begins, not consciously, but randomly, to look for a way to overcome the current situation. The situation is aggravated, negative emotions grow stronger and increase, the mental state worsens. A breakdown is also possible, which will lead to the fact that a person is mired in depression, he will have absolutely no strength left for any action.

How to control yourself?

Developing emotional resilience is of interest to many people. What needs to be done to form it? Learn not to avoid emotions, but, on the contrary, to meet them face to face.

Even their usual verbal designation significantly reduces the intensity of the experience. Such a simple technique helps, as it were, to “localize” an emotion. After all, it is always much easier to deal with a phenomenon or object if it has a name.

Unfortunately, not every person is able to understand what exactly he feels now. Oddly enough, but often the reason is condemnation or a ban on the manifestation of emotions. This is a colossal mistake of society, families, educational institutions, etc. Many people really believe that it’s wrong to be angry, it’s bad to be sad, and it’s completely indecent to rejoice violently. Of course, they get used to suppressing emotions, masking them,issue one for the other. With age, this model of behavior becomes stronger, a person's true ideas about his feelings are erased. He himself may not understand that deep sadness is behind his anger, and excitement and anxiety behind strong fear.

That's why it's important to ask yourself every time: how do I feel? You can't suppress emotions. Because they are energy. And if she does not find a way out due to the fact that a person suppresses her, then she simply begins to destroy him from the inside.

Interaction with other people

A little attention should be paid to this topic. The formation of emotional stability depends not only on the awareness, reflection and acceptance of their feelings. It is also important to learn to catch all such manifestations in other people.

Of course, reading other people's emotional reactions is much more difficult. But this is only at first. Just remember that we are all human. If one person somehow definitely reacts to this or that situation - why can't another respond to it in the same way? It is enough to show a little observation and empathy, and over time, the skill to understand other people will come.

Communication will become much clearer and clearer. A person will notice how his connections with people (especially with loved ones) are transformed. After all, it is emotions that bind us together.

And relationships with other people, it should be noted, directly affect the notorious stability and social success. How exactly? Everything is simple. The more strong, well-established, high-quality connections a person has, the more stable he himself is. Himelementary there are people with whom he can share his impressions, mourn or rejoice, ask for participation and help. This is support. It strengthens, makes stronger. And, accordingly, more stable.

Change in mindset

As part of the theme of the stability of the emotional state, we need to talk about the fact that without transforming your own perception, you will not be able to strengthen this quality.

A person who wants to become "stronger" must realize that if he cannot change his circumstances, then he can change his attitude towards them.

Let's say while walking he noticed a dog barking at someone. A person will not become annoyed - he will simply pass by, because after 1-2 minutes the barking will stop reaching him. The same is true for difficult situations. We must stop perceiving them as something that happens personally to his detriment. They just have a right to exist.

When a person allows events to go the way "intended by Fate" - they just pass by. If he "clings" to everything, the situation is aggravated. This is a philosophical approach, not for everyone, but for many it is suitable.

Also, the emotional stability of a person depends on the conditions in which he lives. If he has a naturally reactive type of nervous activity, then it is better for him to lead an intense lifestyle. Without the opportunity to throw out their energy, such a person will be very uncomfortable. And the human psyche is stable only when his way of life corresponds to his naturalpredispositions.

It is also very important to systematically unload your nervous system. This is especially important for people employed in jobs that require increased emotional stability (teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, rescuers, etc.). Constant pressure has a negative impact on the psyche. The result is constant fatigue, nervousness, irritability. This greatly weakens the nervous system. And when any stressful situation happens (even if it is insignificant), a person is unable to cope with it.

The main thing is positive

To increase emotional stability, it is very important to form a positive attitude towards yourself. Why is it important? Because if a person is a positive character for himself, then he is whole inside.

It's about harmony. A person who lives in harmony with his worldview, beliefs and principles is psychologically satisfied. Therefore, it is important to do what you love, spend time on interesting hobbies, always strive for spiritual improvement and self-development. All of the above has a direct constructive impact both on the person himself and on his life.

All people who live with positivity are much less likely to perceive stressful situations as emergency, unstable and negative. They know how to remain calm at all times. And this is the most important psychological factor of efficiency, reliability and success in extreme conditions.

Emotions as signals

There is one moremoment worthy of attention. As mentioned earlier, emotions are directly related to instincts and needs. These are guides that point a person to what he needs, to his needs.

The emotional stability of a person helps not only to cope with stressful situations, but also to realize the completeness of one's own satisfaction, the correctness of the direction in which certain actions are carried out.

Let's say a person is constantly angry. What does it say? About chronic dissatisfaction with his needs. What is needed in this situation? Abstracting from everything, determine your need, and then take care of its satisfaction. The problem will be solved, the external irritant will go away, and anger will disappear along with it.

Is there no skill to recognize needs, or is the person simply used to the fact that someone else (due to upbringing) takes responsibility for their satisfaction? Or maybe he even considers it shameful to experience some of them? In this case, irresponsibility and unawareness in relation to one's needs lead to the Karpman triangle: Persecutor → Victim → Rescuer. This is the real drama game. The Rescuer, for example, is not aware of his needs at all, but "knows" what the Victim needs, and therefore "does" good to her instead of engaging in personal life.

The most responsible position involves taking responsibility for personal needs and respecting the personal boundaries of others.

Test

Surely many would like to know their level of emotional stability. For this purpose, you can pass one of the many simple tests. Some of them include only 10 questions. Here is an example of such a test with answer options and scores:

• Do you often have nightmares? (No - 1; yes - 2).
• Do you hide your feelings easily? (No - 1; yes - 0).
• Do you often feel guilty? (No - 0; yes - Z).
• Is crowded society annoying? (No - 0; yes - Z).
• Do you need people who can console, approve or understand? (No - 1; yes - 2).
• Do you get easily offended by jokes directed at you? (No - 1; yes - Z).
• Do mood changes often? (No - 1; yes - 2).
• Is it easy to settle in with new people? (No - 2; yes - 0).
• Do you take everything that happens around you to heart? (No - 0; yes - Z).
• Do you get pissed off easily? (No - 1; yes - 2).

By answering these questions, it will be possible to determine what kind of emotional stability a person has (high or low), as well as how strong his psychological defense is.

Results

What is the result of this test method? Emotional resilience has four levels:

• High (up to 7 points). The person has a stable psyche. It is unlikely that he is afraid of at least some emotional stress. This is not bad, but it is still recommended to keep your nervous system in the samecondition.
• Average (8-9 points). A person is quite balanced, able to adequately respond to the vast majority of situations that cause stress. Most people have this level.
• Low (15-20 points). Excessive emotionality distinguishes a person - it would not hurt him to acquire the skills of mental self-regulation. Maybe even take a calming herbal tea.
• Critical (21-25 points). People with this indicator are characterized by an extreme degree of excitability. They have a very low psychological defense, and their nerves are "bare". Such individuals are often shown tranquilizers. Many go to psychotherapists.