Dr.Gargi RoysircarBuildingCommunityResilienceinMississippi

FundedbyFoundationfortheMidSouth

InPartnershipwithTheAmericanRedCrossHurricaneRecoveryProgram

¨ASelectSampleofSlidesfromaPowerpointPresentationof100slides

Self-careisamultidimensionalconceptinwhichtheinterdependencyofmentalandphysicalwell-beingcreatesanenhancedqualityoflifeandsenseofpersonalfulfillment

Ideally,self-careispracticedinsevenfunctionaldomains:emotional,physical,spiritual,intellectual,social,relational,andsafety/security

Bytheendofthisworkshop,participantswillhavelearnedhowto:

¨ promote,ensure,and/orrestorementalandphysicalhealth

¨ prevent,manage,orrecoverfromdisease,injury,ortrauma

¨ achieveanoverallsenseofpersonalwell-being

Disasterresponseworkersareexposedtoavarietyofstressors,including:

¨ Physicallydemanding/unpleasantworkconditions¨ Excessiveworkload,longhours,chronicfatigue¨ Lackofprivacy/personalspace¨ Separationfromfamily/concernsaboutfamilywell-being¨ Constantexposuretochronicfear/uncertainty¨ Repeatedexposuretoothers’traumatization/tragedies¨ Feelinghelplessandfutileinthefaceofoverwhelming

communityneed¨ Anguishresultingfromneedtotriage¨ Guiltoveraccesstoresourcesothersdonothave(Ehrenreich&Elliott,2004)

¨ JobBurnout¨ VicariousTraumatization(VT)¨ SecondaryTraumaticStress(STS)¨ TraumaticCountertransference(TC)¨ CompassionFatigue

Thereisnogeneralconsensusontheoperationaldefinitionofresilience(Newman,2005)

Forthisworkshopwewilldefineresilienceas“effectivecopingandadaptationinthefaceofmajorlifestress”(Tedeschi&Kilmer,2005,p.231).

Thefirstassumptioninthisdefinitionisthatresiliencebeginswithsomeformofobstacle,trauma,oradverseevent

Individualsencounterasituationthatchallengesthemonsomepersonalleveltoutilizeresourcesinordertoovercomethesituation

Thesecondassumptionforresilienceisthespecificationofresources,bothinternalandexternal,thatpeopledrawupontoovercomethesesituations

Resourcesassociatedwithresilienceincludepersonalitytraitsanddeliberateactions

Resilientbehaviorsinclude:optimism,perspectivetaking,establishingandachievinggoals,self-confidence,andsustainingpositiverelationships(Newman,2000)

Friborg etal.(2006)listedfivefactorsofresilience:personalstrength,socialcompetence,structuredstyle,familycohesion,andsocialresources

Friborg etal.’sstudyindicatedthathigherlevelsamongthefivefactorsresultedinasignificantincreaseinresiliencetowardsincreasinglystressfulsituations

Resiliencecanalsobeunderstoodaslearningovertimefromone’ssurvivorexperiences,learningfromone’scommunityofsufferers,and“bouncingback”(Roysircar,2008)

Varyinglevelsofresiliencemitigateagainstvaryinglevelsofstress

Friborg etal.(2006)suggestthatindividualswithhighlevelsofresiliencearecapableofdealingwithhigherlevelsofstress

Tedeschi andKilmer(2005)assertthatbyidentifyingprotectiveresiliencefactors,onecancombatagainsttraumaandincreasethechancesforhealthyadjustment

Additionally,caregiverscanlocatefactorsandsystemsoutsidetheindividualthatenhanceresiliency(Tedeschi &Kilmer,2005)

Resiliencecanalsobedefinedaseffectivecopingandadaptationinthefaceofmajorlifestress(Tedeschi &Kilmer,2005)

Resiliencediffersfrompost-traumaticgrowth,whichinvolvespositivechangesthatoccurinadultsastheresultofattemptstocopeintheaftermathoftraumaticlifeevents

Thesechangesincludeimprovedrelationships,newlifepossibilities,greaterappreciationforlife,greatersenseofpersonalstrength,andspiritualdevelopment

Overall,post-traumaticgrowthprovidesadultswithanincreasedsenseoftheirowncapacitiestosurviveandprevail

Identifying,accepting,andexpressingarangeoffeelings

¨ Researchindicatesthereisanimportantconnectionbetweenemotionsandhealth(Frederickson,2000)

¨ Disasterresponseworkersandcaregiversarelikelytoencounterpeopleandsituationsthatcauseintenseemotionsofanxiety,fear,anger,stress,andinsecurity

¨ Ifnoteffectivelyaddressed,thesefeelingscanhaveanegativeimpactonresponseworkers’well-being

FitnessNutritionGoodhealthpractices

Recentadvancesinpsychological,medical,andphysiologicalresearchhaveledtoanewwayofthinkingabouthealthandillness

Themind-bodyapproachisconcernedwithunderstandinghowbiology,behavior,andsocialcontextinfluencehealthandillness– theBiopsychosocialmodel(Engel,1980)

TheBiopsychosocialmodelviewshealthandillnessasproductsofbiologicalcharacteristics(geneticinheritance),behavioralfactors(lifestyle,stress,healthbeliefs),andsocialconditions(culturalinfluences,familyrelationships,socialsupport)

Mind-bodyfitnessisproducedbyacombinationofexerciseanddiet

Physicalactivityandnutritivefoodintake(optimalbalanceoffats,proteinsandcarbohydrates)helpregulatebrainandbodychemistry

Goodhealthpracticesalsoenhancemind-bodyfitnessthroughreducingoreliminatingnegativephysiologicaleffectsofsmoking,excessivealcoholconsumption,over-/underuseofdrugs,andperiodsofextendedwakefulness(sleeploss)

Theongoingsearchformeaningand/orreligiousunderstandingoflifeandbeyond

¨ Spiritualself-careaddressestheongoingsearchformeaningandunderstandinginlifeandwhatmayextendbeyond

¨ Fosteringspiritualself-careinvolvestheexplorationandexpressionofbeliefsandvaluesthatareshapedbyexperience

¨ Spiritualitymayalsobeexpressedthroughconnectionstonatureandtheworld,andmaybecharacterizedasanindividualsenseofpurpose

¨ Spiritualself-carecanbefacilitatedinnumerousways,fromsimplywatchingthesunrisetobecomingactiveinorganizedreligionorotherspiritualcommunities

¨ Thoughspiritualitymaybemanifestedthroughreligion,religionandspiritualityarenotsynonymous(McCormick,1994)

Researchindicatesreligiousinvolvementisafactorinincreasedlongevityandimprovedhealthoutcomes(Coruh,Ayele,Pugh,andMulligan,2005)

Religiousinvolvementhassomestress-bufferingeffectsininstanceswherepeopleareexperiencingmultiplenegativelifeevents(Schnittker,2001)

Religionalsobenefitspeople’smentalhealththroughincreasedsocialsupportandahealthierlifestyleduetoreligiousprohibitions(Coruhetal.,2005)

InterestinideasLearningCriticalthinkingCreativity

Intellectualself-careisaboutengagingregularlyincriticalthinkingandinquirytoexpandknowledgeandstimulatethemind

Atthemostbasiclevel,intellectualself-careinvolvesanabidinginterestinideas,learning,thinking,andcreativity

In1983,atheoryofmultipleintelligenceswasadvancedbyHowardGardnertoprovidepracticaldefinitionsofintelligencethatpaircognitiveskillswithculturallyvaluedactivities

Gardner’scategoriesofintelligenceinclude:¨ verbal¨ mathematical/logical¨ musical¨ spatial¨ kinesthetic/bodycontrol¨ intrapersonal(self-understanding)¨ interpersonal(socialunderstanding)

Investmentinrelationshipsoutsideoffamily

Socialself-carepertainstoregularinvestmentinrelationshipsoutsideofimmediatefamily

Itincludesestablishing,nurturing,andexpandingsocialnetworksandfriendshipsthroughcommunityinvolvement,groupaffiliation,andcontributiontocollectivecauses

Friendshipsmayprovideemotionalsupport,companionship,reciprocity,andproblem-solvingassistance

Therigorsofdisasterresponseworkoftenlimittimeforsocialself-care

Researchhasdemonstratedtheimportanceofdoingso– forexample,the2001HarvardMedicalSchool’sNurses’HealthStudyshowedthatfriendshipsamongwomenplayanimportantroleinenhancinghealthandqualityoflife

Thestudyconcludedthatthelackofatleastonegoodconfidanteisasdetrimentaltoawoman’shealthassmokingorobesity

Strengtheningrelationshipswithpartners,spouses,children,parents,andextendedfamily

Relationalself-carepertainstotheestablishment,development,andstrengtheningofrelationshipswithlifepartners,spouses,children,parents,andextendedfamily

Maintainingstrongfamilytiesisatthecoreofrelationalself-care

Peopleexpecttolivelonger,arereinforcedfortheirhealthyhabits,andimprovetheirhealthwhentheyreporthighlevelsoffamilialemotionalsupport,mediatedbytheperceptionthatonehassomeonetocallwhenoneissickorinneed(Ross&Mirowsky,2002)

Comfortwithpersonal,environmental,financial,andhomeplanning

Self-careforsafetyandsecurityinvolvespersonal,financial,andenvironmentalplanning

Toooften,safetyandsecurityissuesareonlyaddressedwhenathreat,breachofsafetyortraumaoccurs

Planningaheadcanalleviatesomeofthestressofanactualeventthroughcreatingasenseofpreparednessandgreatercontrol

¨ Developaplanofaction¨ Thinkaboutwhatcouldgowrongiftheactionplanis

implemented¨ Makealistofpossibleproblems¨ Prioritizethelistintermsofthemostseriousproblem

thatcouldhappen¨ Thinkaboutwaystokeepthemostseriousproblem

fromhappening¨ Thinkaboutwaystoreducetheeffectsiftheproblem

happensanyway(contingencyplanning)¨ Dothisforallofthepossibleproblemsonthelist