Title: What Makes Some People More Resilient Than Others - The New York Times
Headings: What Makes Some People More Resilient Than Others
What Makes Some People More Resilient Than Others
The very earliest days of our lives, and our closest relationships, can offer clues about how we cope with adversity.
Eilene Zimmerman is author of the memoir “Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction and Tragedy.”
How to Build Resilience

Content: these early experiences sculpt the brain, because it is a use-dependent organ,” he said. You can think of resilience as a set of skills that can be, and often is, learned. Part of the skill-building comes from exposure to very difficult — but manageable — experiences, like the one my children and I had. “Stress isn’t all bad,” said Steven M. Southwick, professor emeritus of psychiatry, PTSD and Resilience at Yale University School of Medicine and co-author of the book “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges.” If you can cope today with all that’s happening in the world around you, Dr. Southwick said, “then when you are on the other side of it, you’ll be stronger.” How we cope depends on what is in our resilience toolbox. For some people, like my ex-husband, the toolbox is filled with drugs. For others it can be drinking, overeating, gambling, shopping. But these don’t promote resilience.