Tips for building resiliency to face life’s challenges| Anthem

No matter who you are or your circumstances, life can throw you some curve balls. When that happens, it can take the form of changes at work, a loved one falling ill, unexpected home or car repairs, or everyday stresses from family relationships or finances. By practicing emotional coping skills and building a support system you trust, you can help boost your resiliency to better navigate these difficult times.

What Is Resilience And Why Does It Matter?

From daily stresses to major traumatic events, being able to cope with or recover from various challenges is called “resilience.” Resilience won’t make a problem go away, but it can greatly improve your overall well-being and mindset while you work to overcome it. And if your resilience doesn’t feel strong right now, that’s OK. It’s a skill you can grow and practice over time.

8 Tips For Boosting Your Resilience

Working on your resiliency helps you develop the skills to process difficult situations and emotions, ask for the help you need, and maintain a mindset of hope and positivity for the future. This work can be done while you’re actively going through a difficult time or while things are good to help you prepare for the future. Review these tips for building resiliency, and choose a couple you think may work for you:

Practice gratitude and mindfulness. These practices can help keep the positive things in your life top of mind and remind you that not everything is bad. The bad is simply an isolated situation and doesn’t erase the good in your life.
Change your perspective. Instead of feeling like bad things always happen to you, or you can never catch a break, try to tell yourself that your current challenge does not have to decide your future. Leaning into hope instead of thinking the worst can help you maintain a positive mindset.
Learn from the past. Look at what activities or people helped you through tough times in the past. You may notice a pattern and be able to develop a plan for dealing with difficult situations in the future.
Talk to a professional. If you’re having trouble navigating a situation on your own, reach out to a mental health professional to help you create a strategy for moving forward.
Care for your body. Eating a nutritious diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep all contribute to better mental health and can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. When you feel good physically, you have one less barrier to feeling good mentally.
Connect with others. During difficult times, it can be easy to isolate yourself and feel like no one will understand how you’re feeling. However, connecting with a group of like-minded people in your community or with empathetic loved ones can help validate your feelings and give you a sense of belonging and purpose.
Pursue your goals. Reflect on something you want to accomplish and think about how you can make progress toward that goal each day. Moving toward something positive can give you a hopeful mindset for the future and remind you that there are good things happening even in times of struggle.
Be proactive. If a problem or situation seems particularly overwhelming, make a list of small steps you can take to manage or overcome it and take them on one at a time. Taking even the smallest steps toward a solution can help you feel less stuck and more hopeful.

Finding Help

If you need support, Anthem has resources available to help:

For those with an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Anthem, you can find professional, confidential counseling for you and your household members, including a set number of visits per issue per year at no extra cost. To begin, log in at anthem.com/ca/eap. *
The EAP through Anthem also has self-paced resources to help you develop a positive outlook, practice self-compassion, focus on your strengths, and build your confidence.
To learn more about how your Anthem plan supports mental health, log in to anthem.com/ca or the Sydney^SM Health app or call the Member Services on your health plan ID card.

Sources:

American Psychological Association: Building your resilience (February 1, 2020): apa.org.

Mayo Clinic: Resilience: Build skills to endure hardship (December 23, 2023): mayoclinic.org.

* These services are specific to those with an EAP through Anthem or an Anthem health plan. Similar services may differ with other health insurers or EAP providers.

Online counseling is not appropriate for all kinds of problems. If you are in crisis or have suicidal thoughts, it’s important that you seek help immediately. Please call 988 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) and ask for help. If your issue is an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

EAP products are offered by Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.

Sydney Health is offered through an arrangement with Carelon Digital Platforms, a separate company offering mobile application services on behalf of your health plan.

Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.

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