Experts at Intermountain Health Suggest Remembering Resiliency During Mental Health Awareness Month

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month and a good time to refocus on your mental well-being.

Over the past few years, there has been significant events and traumas that have occurred throughout our society. Researchers have studied the effect of large-scale traumas and disasters on communities.

Not only has the COVID pandemic and other social issues increased mental health challenges for many of us,ā€Æbut weā€Æhave also been given the opportunity to reflect, become more aware, practice, and develop our flexibility and resilience.

Some people think of flexibility and resilience as traits one is born with (hardiness) ā€“ or an outcome (presence of post-traumatic stress or growth). In fact, scientists say resilience can be taught, learned, and strengthened.

ā€œFlexibility and resilience take an intentional focus to develop and strengthen these important skills.ā€ÆFlexibility and resilience are processes of adapting well to changing circumstances, including adversity, we all know things are going to continue to change, we just donā€™t know exactly how,ā€ said Doug Thomas, community health director for Intermountain Health.

ā€œWhen we get far enough past big changes, set-backs or adversities, we can look back with perspective, and consider its effects on our lives and identities, reflect on the skills we developed, the actions we took, the lessons we learned, and the reasons we kept going,ā€ Thomas added.

Asking yourself: ā€œWhat do I do when times get hard?ā€ or ā€œWhere do I derive the ability to make it through tough times?ā€ reminds us of our personal skills and characteristics that we can use.

The question: ā€œWho can I ask for help when times get hard and who can I help?ā€ addresses our social support and sense of connection, which help us not to feel all alone in any particular struggle.

Finally, asking ourselves: ā€œWho do I want to be when this is over and what will it have meant for me?ā€ helps us to focus on a sense of meaning and purpose.ā€ÆOur contentment in life often has less to do with the circumstances going on around us and more to do with our focus and the narrative we tell ourselves.

Intermountain behavioral health experts have said to think of resilience like a balance scale where negative experiences tip the scale towards negative outcomes, positive experiences towards positive outcomes.

ā€œFlexibility and resilience add weight to the positive side of the scale to keep our lives in balance or even tip toward the positive in the face of very negative experiences,ā€ said Thomas. ā€œGo do something you enjoy; if you canā€™t right now, then plan to do something as circumstances change, and make sure to include others in the planning.ā€

If you want to speak to someone about increasing your flexibility and resilience to meet lifeā€™s challenges, call the Intermountain Health Behavioral Health Navigation Line at 833-442-2211.

The hotline is a new service provided by Intermountain and designed to help anyone in the community find the resources that they need. The Intermountain Health Behavioral Health Navigation Line is a single phone number where you can call and speak with caregivers in our organization about you or your familyā€™s needs and be directed to life-assisting services, schedule an appointment, or connect with Intermountainā€™s Behavioral Health Connect Care.

Connect Care is a new virtual behavioral health service that connects you to needed behavioral health care for you or your loved one in real time.

For more information, visit intermountainhealthcare.org/behavioralhealth.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in seven states and additional operations across the western U.S., www.intermountainhealth.org is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 3,900 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called SelectHealth with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.