Resource Articles

Dealing with loss, due to whatever circumstance, is difficult. It can be particularly difficult, however, to know how to interact with others who are experiencing a loss. Responses to this type of situation can range from avoidance to becoming overly-involved. The best response is somewhere in the middle.

Please Note: This video was launched in 2013 as part of the Go for the Gold Game Plan for Your Health. Some colleagues interviewed are no longer at Vanderbilt, but the concepts they address remain timeless.

A job is not who we are but rather what we do. It doesn't speak to your attributes as a person, as a friend, as a partner or as a parent. Nevertheless, the loss of a job feels devastating. It represents livelihood, identity, and life purpose. In today's economic times, the loss may not be the direct result of your actions but rather based on the business or financial position of the employer. There are some important steps to take during a transition.

The American Psychological Association in their Road to Resilience Initiative defines resilience as the process of good coping and adaptation in the face of a challenge, trauma or significant sources of stress.   

BUILDING RESILIENCE: TURNING CHALLENGES INTO SUCCESS Healthy Lifestyle Being resilient requires mental and physical energy. In order to have the emotional energy to deal with the challenges that life throws your way, it is important to maintain healthy lifestyle practices for optimal functioning.

Building Resilience: Turning Challenges Into Success Resilience Skill Development: It would be great if everyone was born with a full repertoire of traits and skills for resilience. Since we are not, it is reassuring to know that with practice and training we can learn the behaviors, attitudes and skills necessary to increase our ability to spring back from challenges. There are four skill sets that are particularity helpful:

Building Resilience: Turning Challenges Into Success Attitude Our attitude drives our behavior. This is the foundation for resilience; the way we view the world. Six ways to build a resilient attitude include:

​Work/Life Connections-EAP coordinates Crisis Intervention Services and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Services for the VUMC community. Definition: A Critical Incident is "any event which has the potential to produce unusual or distressing emotional symptoms such as an accident, injury, death, disaster, threat or act of violence, or other traumatic event at the workplace."

Stress is inevitable. Whether it's triggered by an attacking lion in a pre-historic jungle or by the sales quotas of the "corporate jungle" of today, it is a fact of life. Today's stress may even be more intense and unrelenting than that felt by our ancestors.