Resilience by Soldiers, Veterans, and Other Warriors

warrior resilience

Join the Warriors of Mental Armor: Be Smarter, Stronger, and Save Lives'

WHY WE ALL NEED TO STRENGTHEN OUR RESILIENCE

Simply, resilience is the ability to bounce back. When we experience negative events, are continually stressed from technology and daily demands, food additives, chemical and air pollution, and/or physical or mental trauma, all these things take a toll on us by changing the chemical composition of our mind. They adversely impact our mental and physical performance, how we view the world, make us more susceptible to illness and dementia, and even make us socially alienated, lose empathy, and experience compassion fatigue. We flame out, because we are unable to control that 90% of our mind that is subconscious or unconscious.

Front responders must develop a resiliency practice to avoid burnout and remain impactful in their performance. Resiliency is also important for handling the stresses of parenting, caretaking, chronic illnesses, and other ordinary stesses of life. Resiliency is not an option. It is a requirement.

Resilience is a whole-body approach

Unless we build strong resiliency practices, we will experience burnout, compassion fatigue, internalized emotions, disease, accelerated biological age, and mental illness. Resiliency is not about "being tougher." Rather, resilience is about our ability to take in physical and mental trauma, process it, and reframe it in a way that does not rob us of our happiness, energy, and love of people and country. It is maintaining that positive passion that drives us to become front responders in the first place, to be leaders in our community, and to be the rescuers, healers, and protectors we are.

While some are predisposed to having more resiliency than others, we all must continue to develop and cultivate it. If we break our arm, we can see the injury and feel the pain. When we injure our mind, it is not obvious. Untreated, it grows like a cancer. The injury can be buried in the subconscious, manifesting in negative, uncontrolled outcomes.

Tactical breathing & MINDFULNESS FOR survival

In any stress situation, our body reacts in a flight-or-fight mode. We become supercharged, pumped up, and ready to fight off or run from Tyrannosaurs. The problem is when minor stresses that are not really life or death cause our body to react in such an extreme manner. When we react or biologically overreact to negative stimuli, we lose our bility to control our conscious responses to outside events. We are impaired as our subconscious takes over. To regain control, we must practice mindfulness - a medically proven awareness practice. That is, we can't control our reactions if we are not aware of them! Many alphas have well-turned mindful antennae to their external environment - constantly looking for threats. However, that focus does not include the internal environment - how their body is physiologically responding. Is the threat real? Are we overreacting? Is the 90% of our mind that represents subconscious and unconscious thinking taking over, all molded by years of trauma? Practicing meditation and mindfulness everyday is not an option, but a requirement. We must do it because our life does depend on it!

Meditation - What it is and What it is not

When we think of meditation, often we think of monks sitting cross-legged in front of a burning candle. It is not a quick fix to anything. But it can be done while we are walking or playing music. It takes many forms - choose ones that work for you. Medically proven to impact our brain waves, it permits our body to recharge, achieve balance, and have clarity. How and why is not certain. While adult brains shrink in size as we age, those with longstanding meditation practices do not. Experienced meditators can control their body temperatures, and raise and lower heart beats - not just of themselves but others they touch. Somehow, our bodies' DNA require moments of quiet and stillness for processing.

Spiritual RUMINATION

If you believe in a spiritual higher-power, having a regular spiritual practice can be life-saving and grounding. Pursing or having a spiritual community has also been shown to support our immunity, longevity, and overall well-being. As with any group involving humans, we must choose our group carefully. A group that is nonjudgmental, open, and not focused on politics would appear less likely to cause stress. Judging others is a nonstarter, because we can't control others. We can only pray and be a model for positive spiritual behavior. If being a part of a group causes stress, then it is probably not the right group. It's ok to walk away. There are plenty of other groups - in fact, there are over 30k Christian-Judeo denominations in the U.S.

For spiritual meditations, visit ChristianMindfulness.org