What is Resilience?

Trying to combat mental illness and the effects it can have on you can be exhausting, hard, and can even make you feel worse. Nonetheless, resilience, or the process of fighting back and recovering from difficulties, is possible.

Resilience is a way to include positivity in your life and a way to fight back against the negative thoughts that often come with having a mental illness. It’s a way of like telling your mental illness that it doesn’t have more power than you have over yourself and that you can get back up when it knocks you down. There are tons of ways to practice resilience too, from changing behavior patterns or your environment to practicing healthy coping mechanisms.

Resilience acts as a type of protective factor, which are ways to prevent issues like more severe mental health effects from occurring. It’s different than simply trying to overcome your issues though; while it may sound like it’s the same thing as putting on a smile on your face and acting as if nothing is wrong, resilience is more about trying to find a way to battle your feelings and also means embracing that they’re in the first place.

But how does resilience look for adolescents specifically? One study interviewed five teenage girls who were being treated for various mental illnesses such as addictionPTSD, and depression. Common patterns appeared in what all of them had to say; for example, embracing resilience for them was challenging, but they described the effects that it had on them to be really rewarding.

These difficulties came in the form of trying to find positivity when combating triggers or experiencing nightmares, or feeling like they were alone in their situation and trying to withstand trauma by themselves, especially because of things like stigma or being shut down when they did open up. They were able to find resilience through becoming more confident in dealing with their mental health issues, which led to an increase in self-worth, and it was something that they were able to work on not just with other’s help, but through their own individual determination. They were also able to find the resources they needed and simply just surviving when things felt like they were at their worst.

While it’s a journey, finding ways to be resilient against one’s mental illness is possible.


What do you think resilience is? How do you embrace difficulties or challenges that may occur? How does your child?

Using Your Phone to Practice Deep Breathing

There are tons of breathing and meditation apps available online (we’ve covered a few of them before if you want some suggestions!). If you’re running out of space, unsure which one is best for you, or just want something that’s convenient, finding a tool to help guide you with your breathing to help you get or stay calm may be easier to find than you think. Continue reading Using Your Phone to Practice Deep Breathing

Anger’s Role in Depression and Anxiety

Some of the more common symptoms associated with depression include fatigue, a loss of interest in things one usually enjoys, and hopelessness. Anxiety symptoms are usually thought to be restlessness, nervousness, and a rapid heart rate. Another symptom that can come with both, however, is anger. Continue reading Anger’s Role in Depression and Anxiety

Using Books to Learn and Cope with Mental Illness

Maybe your child is a bookworm. Maybe they have “reading more” as one of their plans for this summer. Maybe your child reads as a hobby and use it as a form of stress relief when they need a break from school and/or work. Whatever the reason, they may be on the lookout for something new to read. Continue reading Using Books to Learn and Cope with Mental Illness

Mental Health Experts on Social Media

When people talk about social media and its effect on people, it’s almost always negative. Many have mentioned and researched about the effect of social media on mental health: feeling unproductiveworrying about what we said or did online, and experiencing FOMO are just a few of the things that affect us from using social media. Continue reading Mental Health Experts on Social Media

Music and the Brain

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.


We listen to music all day, everyday. If we are in the car, at the dentist office, at the store, we constantly are being exposed to music. But, do you really think about the effect that music can take on our brains and our mood even when we don’t think about it? Continue reading Music and the Brain

Staying True to Yourself While Dating

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by one in our team of fantastic SOVA Ambassadors—these are young people who help create meaningful blog posts from adolescents’ perspectives. We hope you can use their post to start a conversation with your adolescent.


In January, I was in my first relationship where I was dating someone, and it was a great experience and something I have wanted for, well, forever.  Continue reading Staying True to Yourself While Dating

Practicing Affirmations

While they may seem cheesy at first, affirmations can be pretty powerful. Self-affirmations are sayings that people say aloud with confidence about things that they are trying to believe in. By saying these frequentlyout loud, and with assurance and confidence, it can help people believe in the very things that there are saying, making it come true. Continue reading Practicing Affirmations

How Rural Adolescents can Benefit from Social Media

Technology has helped make the world feel more connected, making resourcesstories, and information much more accessible. This impact is significant for those who are physically isolated and may feel like they’re in the middle of nowhere. In the past, news and entertainment was extremely limited to things such as televisions, magazines and newspapers, and going out to explore was difficult because there were very few things close by. Continue reading How Rural Adolescents can Benefit from Social Media