Sober Synthesis

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

― Joseph Campbell

What Is the Difference Between Survival and Resilience?

• Survival is primarily focused on staying alive and maintaining basic needs.
  • Drinking and/or drug use may start as a perceived survival response. Ironically, the biological/psychological consequences of mood-altering substance use impede resilience.
• Resilience is the ability to modulate and constructively harness the stress response—a capacity that enhances physical and mental health.

How Do I Strengthen Resilience?

• Six fundamental habits that are part of most days (80-85% of the time) to optimize our health and wellness, both physically and emotionally/mentally for resilience.

• Quality sleep 
• Sunlight every day (preferably first thing in the morning) 
• Some form of movement (combination of aerobic and strength are optimal)
• Quality nutrition 
• Adequate hydration 
• Social connections 

• Two fundamental behavioral tools (at least 3 times per week) to reset our mind and mood quickly to help us achieve “positive buoyancy”, the ability to recover from adversity and return to engagement of healthy/positive practices.
• Deliberate decompression to balance sympathetic nervous system arousal.
  • Deep breathing exercises, mindfulness activities, yoga, Non Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR), play, creative activities, writing, cooking, listening to music. 

• A gratitude practice (stories are superior to lists). While a gratitude practice is beneficial to have in its own right, it can help us reframe our life during unpredictable and difficult times. 
• Cognitive and Behavioral Activities to Balance Our Innate Negative Bias

• Enhance realistic optimism (subjective well being/happiness).
  • Focus on what is positive around us, intentionally think positive thoughts, embrace humor
  • Develop a practice to notice and savor small pleasures in the moment (delights).
  • Behave in ways that are known to be associated with positive emotions, and try to associate with positive friends and colleagues—emotions can be contagious
• Reappraisal, reinterpret the meaning of an adverse event so that we see it as less negative. 
• Behavioral Tools to Strengthen DistressTolerance
  • Small stress activities (micro-challenges) to desensitize the “alarms” of an oversensitive sympathetic nervous system. 
  • Stress Inoculation (advanced and optional)
    • Deliberate initiation of the stress response (adrenaline). Examples are bouts of very strenuous exercise, planned exposure to uncomfortable social/public speaking, and exposure to cold (cold shower for 30 sec-1 min).
    • Practicing cognitive reframing tools during the stress response.

Resilience: Meaning, Types, Causes, and How to Develop It (verywellmind.com)

Proposed questions for thought/sharing:

1. Do you recall a time in your life when you demonstrated your strongest resilience? What mental or physical activities supported your resilience?
2. Has developing resilience played a role in your recovery? How?
3. What activities might you plan to start and/or ritualize to support your resilience?

Disclaimer

This summary is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed.