How Do You Do Resiliency

August 2023

As adoptees, the language we speak and know best is adapting. Along with this, comes resiliency - defined by The American Psychological Association as: 

“Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.

A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, predominant among them:

• the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world

• the availability and quality of social resources

• specific coping strategies

Psychological research demonstrates that the resources and skills associated with more positive adaptation (i.e., greater resilience) can be cultivated and practiced.”

From APA Dictionary of Psychology

Like many other adoptees, I have had to use this skill set more than once and it has appeared quietly and effectively. I wonder though, how many times one has to lean on this phenomenon in order to simply get through life?

If you, as an adoptee, find yourself pondering this question, Contact me to discuss further. We are not only survivors but thrivers and as such deserve to strengthen our voices.

In peace.

Abby Jacobson, Adoptee Counselor