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Moving from Fear to Resilience

Writer's picture: Patricia FaustPatricia Faust


We have moved from one crisis to another over these past number of years. The problems have been big and the consequences are even bigger. I have lived through many crises over the years, but I don’t remember those being as devastating as the present time. Maybe because communication was slower, we didn’t see the impact of war as it was happening, mass killings, earthquakes, wildfires, or devastating weather patterns. The cost to human lives is astronomical. How do we keep going?


At this point in time when everything is falling apart again how are we doing? We have a few crises that we can choose from, all of which can bring us to our knees. After a year of intense stress, many of us are at the burnout stage and unable to function. Who are the people who experienced this intense stress and fear but have managed to show resilience in a fractured recovery? And who are the people who cannot rally and even function day to day?


How specifically does our mind respond to a crisis? Mindfulness experts Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter, show how the mind responds to a crisis is a choice that we control. All of us are involved in this crisis. We have been witnessing throughout the world, the spread of the Covid virus, and been witnessing and experiencing the spread of worry, anxiety, and instability. Our brain naturally goes to the negative side of any event. Focus and concentration become difficult to maintain. Hougaard and Carter’s study found that 58% of employees reported an inability to regulate their attention at work. Research has shown that as the mind wanders, it gets trapped in patterns and negative thinking. During a time of extreme stress, such as now, the mind becomes even more hooked by obsessive thinking and feelings of fear and helplessness. In this state, a chain reaction occurs. Fear begins to narrow your field of vision, and it becomes harder to see the bigger picture and the creative possibilities in front of you. As our perspective shrinks, so does our tendency to connect with others. Anxiety about getting the virus worries that our loved ones will get it, worries about financial implications, and all the other dark scenarios flooding the news and social media – are large of our own making. Mental resilience, especially in challenging times like now, means managing our minds in a way to face our fear head-on. (Hougaard,R., Carter,J., Mohan,M. Build Your Resilience in the Face of a Crisis. March 19, 2020. Harvard Business Review).


The fear we understand because it has been a part of our lives for a few years now. But learning how to be resilient in the face of fear is a skill we are just incorporating into our lives. Understanding that no matter how devastating this horrible stress can be, we must believe that it will leave us stronger than we were before. But we must be intentional about how this will shape us. Resilience is a responsive agility that intentionally adapts to the compressive stress that we are experiencing to form us into something better, stronger, and more adept. We choose our actions. We cannot control the situation, but we can control our response to it and determine how the outcome affects us. We take some ownership of the crisis and create our own outcome.


These life lessons will always serve us. The knowledge we gather as we experience these difficult events will be available for recall for the next catastrophe. It can serve as our template for surviving the next crisis and allow us to be fearless.







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     What's Happening?

2025 has certainly started off with a BANG!  There is significant chaos surrounding the start of now President Trump’s term in office.  He described it as ‘Shock and Awe’.  I would agree with ‘shock’, but I am not in awe of the beginning of his term.  Time will tell how this all plays out.  It does force me to get serious about my meditation practice, however.

Then most of the United States was under, first – severe weather systems and then the incineration of Southern California.  In my particular neck of the woods (Ohio/Indiana border) we had 15 inches of snow, subzero temperatures made even colder by high wind.  My gas and electric bill will be out of this world after this month.  It has been a long time since we have seen this type of weather.  In 1978, we had a blizzard where over 30 inches of snow fell, the Ohio River froze over, and I had a blizzard baby 9 months later (to the day)! Nothing like that this time though!

The natural disasters to hit the US this year have been catastrophic.  There was Hurricane Helene that devastated Florida but also caused so much flooding in the Southeast State of North Carolina that the town of Ashville was left in shambles.  This is a mountain town where you would never expect torrential flooding to occur.  The recovery has been slow, but it is ongoing. 

Los Angeles California is the home of many famous and affluent people.  The Palisades and Malibu are two cities you might have seen on TV shows or in movies.  They are on the Pacific coast and were extremely beautiful.  There is nothing left. The damage is unimaginable.  It is hard to understand how people will bounce back from this.

No matter where you live or are reading this, please keep these communities in your thoughts and prayers.  If possible, check out sources where you may make contributions to their recovery.

On a lighter note, The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will play each other in Super Bowl 59 on February 9 in New Orleans.  These two teams played each other in the 2023 Super Bowl and The Chiefs were the winners.  Grudge match in 2025?  We will see.

Make sure you check out the activities going on at the Virtual Brain Health Center.  Krystal and LeAnne always have a month full of activities, the book club, podcasts and guests who bring their expertise to share.  It is free and is worth checking out.  www.virtualbrainhealthcenter.com

I am available to book speaking engagements for The Boomer Brain and The Inside Workings of the Aging Brain.  All Boomers are feeling brain aging losses – tip-of-the-tongue, lost word, forgetting things and the slow down of processing. Request information and open dates through patricia@myboomerbrain.com.

“Pat has written a comprehensive quide to understanding and navigating the intricacies of cognitive aging. ‘The Boomer Brain’ is a beacon of hope for those seeking to enrich their later years.” Dr. Sarah McKay (Founder of The Neuroscience Academy)

Over the past few years, I have had a friend, Carol Meyer, who has been a part of My Boomer Brain.  Carol has her own publication, InFlow that is published quarterly.  It is amazing.  InFlow Magazine - Your Digital Dose of Inspiration is just that.  She has chosen some of my blogs to publish in InFlow and I am grateful.  She wants me to extend an invitation to look at InFlow for yourself.  Here is the link and access information:

 

https://inflowmagazine.gumroad.com/l/Issue11

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THANKS for being a part of My Boomer Brain! 

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