A shift toward resilience

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For many of us at App State, we are rounding 6 weeks of working from home. 6 weeks ago feels very far away, but at the same time, like yesterday. Like many of you, I have ridden an emotional roller coaster in those 6 weeks. I have felt comforted while home with my family, gratitude for being able to continue my work, relief to be healthy, and joy to have a window in my office!



I have also felt intense fear and anxiety. I often find my mind wandering, considering the options of what will happen and how I will deal with the unexpected when it comes. I have had to work through the process of adjusting to a new schedule and the isolation of not being with my community. I have had to fight letting my mind wander through all of the potential scenarios that the next few months might bring. It has not been what I expected, though I'm not sure anyone could have envisioned what this would look like.

While I've ridden this roller coaster, I have found that I've learned things about myself. I have gained a greater level of self-awareness. I have learned new skills. I have discovered opportunities to support the faculty and staff at App State that I would never have considered. This is a major byproduct of the Covid-19 pandemic for which I am grateful. It has been a opportunity to build resilience.

Resilience can be defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. As we continue to weather the months to come, we will have the opportunity to continue to build this resilience. This article gave me greater insight into understanding resilience and how to build it.

I will focus in more depth on resilience building techniques and behaviors in future posts, but I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to the concept. And I want to reassure you that whether today is a peak or a valley on your roller coaster, the ride itself is help you build the resilience it will take to get through this together.

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