Trauma and Building Resilience

I am finding myself quite shocked by the events of this year. Who among us has not seen or experienced trauma in the days, weeks and months of 2020?   

Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can be anything from a one-time event to multiple, long-lasting or prolonged events, and collective trauma affects a community or a country. 

The worldwide pandemic and lifestyle changes it brought were quite enough, but then came civil unrest followed by wildfires on the West Coast—taking lives, destroying property and creating hazardous air conditions. Writing from Portland, Oregon, USA, I’m speaking from a local perspective, but there are, of course, tragic events going on around the globe. 

Seventy percent of Americans will experience some type of traumatic event in their lifetime (WHO World Mental Health Survey, 2009), and it has a tremendous impact on human lives, ranging from subtle to destructive. 

Many people find healthy ways to cope with and heal from trauma. They often respond by re-evaluating their values and considering what is most important in life.

Humans have an amazing ability to “bounce back” from difficult experiences. Our ability to adapt in the face of extreme adversity is called resilience. This quality is built from a combination of both risk and protective factors. 

Stress is something real for all of us, but the level of resilience a person has will determine their ability to cope with it. Resilience empowers us to grow and improve our lives, even when facing challenges. 

Resilient people don't let adversity define them. They know and understand their boundaries, seek support when they are in need, and practice self-acceptance without shame.

If you don’t recognize those qualities in yourself yet, don’t worry. Anyone can learn to boost their resilience, because it’s not just a biological characteristic. It involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that you can learn and strengthen. 

The American Psychological Association offers five strategies for adults to increase their resilience capacity: 

• Build your connections 
• Foster wellness
• Find purpose
• Embrace healthy thoughts 
• Seek help

What about children and resilience? The key predictor of recovery for children who experience trauma is having at least one supportive, loving and committed adult in their life. 

Models for building resilience in children and adults include contributing to the well-being of others (after you have taken good care of yourself, of course). 

Becoming a mentor with Great Life Mentoring is one way for you to increase your own resilience capacity and help a child build theirs. This organization provides a free opportunity for adults to increase four of the five resilience strategies above (build your connections, foster wellness, find purpose and embrace healthy thoughts), while helping children who are facing adversity. 

Great Life Mentoring is a research-based, effective practice with twenty years of experience training people to be better versions of themselves while helping children in their community. It’s a mental health intervention for children who lack stable relationships in their lives, but the volunteer mentors say their own lives improve as a result. It’s a classic win-win situation. 

Before being matched with their friend, volunteers receive training in building healthy relationships that prepares them to be successful mentors. They also receive staff support every step of the way. But don’t just take it from me. You can watch a series of one-minute videos, where mentors and their friends share in their own words how Great Life Mentoring has bettered their lives. 

When you contribute to the well-being of others, it fuels your own sense of purpose and empowers both the giver and the receiver. Now that’s some good news!

If you’d like to grow in your own resilience and empower a child as well, Great Life Mentoring is your answer. Volunteer in Vancouver WA or volunteer in Portland OR. The life you change may be your own!

For more information on trauma, here’s a compendium of information, “presented in the form of a loosely organized glossary of terms and concepts that every survivor and trauma therapist should know.” Authored by: Odelya Gertel Kraybill, Ph.D., LCPC, ACS who is a trauma specialist, trainer, psychotherapist and consultant.

Behavioral health crisis services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling the Southwest Washington Crisis Line at: 800.626.8137

Thanks to Emily Gagliardi and Kayla Hung for their contributions to this article.