In times of distress, we bounce back and show resilience

Resilience. 

The American Psychological Association says resilience is successfully adapting to difficult or challenging experiences. Of course, we know all about that here. 

For a lot of us, that’s all we have left of our lives after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Even if we didn’t lose everything as so many did. 

We’re still traumatized by the realization that it can and did happen here. 

So, what is it about us that makes us just keep going?

I think it’s because it’s our nature to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. In our case, we remember what life was like just two months ago. 

We built that life, and we want it back. It’s our nature to adapt. 

It’s what allowed us to evolve from the caves to where we are now. We’re problem solvers. We’re compassionate, empathetic, we want to help each other and ourselves. We want to be back in control. So, we’re taking control of the situation as much as we can.

Some say that resilient people were born that way. They just naturally handle stuff better.

There may be some truth to that but mostly, becoming resilient is a lifelong process. It starts with our survival instinct and through a series of experiences, mistakes and events in our lives, we develop poise and clear thinking in a traumatic situation. 

Whether it’s the death of a loved one or losing everything in a hurricane, bouncing back is what we do.

If you think you’re not resilient, think again. You can do this. 

Sometimes the shock and sadness of an event is so strong that maybe we have to just lay there for a while. That’s perfectly natural. 

We eventually get up and carry on because we know deep inside that we must, if we’re going to survive. Humans are survivors. We have a deep desire to thrive and be happy again.

We all feel stress. Whether it’s a sudden big event, or life’s daily grind. Stress is the price we pay for being alive. Science tells us that resilience, how we handle that stress, has a tremendous effect on our health, the quality of our daily life and how long we live. 

Resilient people have a stronger immune system. They have fewer chronic health issues like heart disease. They tend to live a healthier lifestyle by not smoking, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. All that adds to their ability to be resilient in times of major stress.

Trying to take a small step back so we can calm down and see the big picture, thinking positively, looking for any good we can find in a situation, these are the building blocks of resilience.

It's hard. So don’t go it alone. The compassion of family, friends, and even strangers who’ve been through it too, can give us the strength to stay positive and rebuild ourselves and our lives.

On a personal note, we had some damage to our home from both hurricanes. It was traumatic as it happened and continues to be stressful. 

But as we began to sort out what to do, neighbors gave us some disaster relief information. It looks like there’s more help out there than we initially thought. FEMA takes disaster relief applications over the phone at 800-621-4FEMA, and online. 

We did ours over the phone. It took about 20 minutes, and it was comforting to hear an empathetic voice walk us through the process. 

FEMA also gave us the link to the Small Business Administration disaster relief website that handles disruption of business claims. 

Our insurance company urged us to get an insurance inspector out to the property ASAP cause the line is getting longer by the minute.

Some of us have lost loved ones or sustained irreparable damage and their resilience is the only thing that they have to rely on. Let’s give them all the help we can to find their new place in life. As for the rest of us, we’ll be back, we’re human, we’re resilient.