Inform USA Webinar - "Coping Ugly" - Dispelling the Myth of the "One True Path" to Resilience

There are (what feels like) countless articles, videos, and even websites that tell you they have a mythical and magical list of things you can do or practice that will make you resilient (I’ll wait here a minute while you google it to verify my claim). Although those lists can be helpful in their own way, they can also be misleading by making you think that if you have checked all the boxes on the list...you are indeed resilient, which is actually not true. 

George Bonano, professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, has learned through his intense studies of grief that there is no best way to cope and that resilience is an outcome...not an aspect of character or even a skill you acquire. 

Using Bonano’s research (with a healthy mix of the Multi System Model of Resilience from some smart folks at Ryers University), we will explore more about how eating a bag of chips can be considered adaptive coping and how talking to friends about the problem can be maladaptive coping. We will further outline and explore a 3X3 model (see takeaways below for additional details) of recognizing and even cultivating resources in your life that can lead you to a resilient outcome every time... on the path and in the way that feels best to you.

Please make sure you have your phone handy and a paper and pen for drawing out the model for your reference and to add personal notes and reflection. I also highly recommend having a snack on hand you enjoy :) 

Key Takeaways:

• Understand what makes a coping mechanism adaptive or maladaptive (spoiler...it's not what you think)
• Outline the three mindsets linked to resilient outcomes that allow you to focus on the task at hand constructively.
• Outline “The Sequence” - 3 questions that help you determine what to do for yourself in a specific situation to get closer to a resilient outcome.
• Outline the three systems/layers of resilience (internal, coping and pursuits, external) and brainstorm a list of what resources you already have access to in those systems and which ones you could cultivate.
• Use the MSMR tool/app to scientifically and empirically evaluate the potential for your own resilient outcomes based on what resources in each system you have access to now.