The neurobiology of resilience is the field of study that explains, from a biological point of view, one of the most fascinating processes of the human being, in this process people are able to successfully face stressors derived from adverse situations, to better adapt to a complex reality, also investing in emotional health and reducing the impact of traumatic episodes.
Resilience? It represents a concept that has become important in recent decades, the term and its meaning inspires, satisfies, even many people read it and try to develop it, however, there is one aspect that continues to arouse the curiosity of neuropsychologists.
- Why do people face complex situations and adversity more effectively and others.
- Yet feel overwhelmed in a state of permanent helplessness?.
- Why can these people be the same person at two different times in life?.
“The world breaks everyone, then some become stronger in broken places. “Ernest Hemingway
We see it many times and in the most diverse way, for example, in the case of three siblings, three children who have experienced the traumatic loss of one or both parents, under the same circumstances and in the same environment, these kids can grow up. with very different behavior, some will carry this traumatic wound showing problematic behaviors, low self-esteem, anxiety, learning difficulties, etc.
Another brother, however, can develop a more correct attitude, maintaining the psychological balance despite the blow, all this forces us to ask why. What neurobiological mechanisms favor some more or less resistant ones?
Talking about resilience suggests a necessary reference to our ability to cope with stress, using it to our advantage. In this sense, an idea arises: our brain is first and foremost a detector of threatening information.
One of our priorities is to survive and, therefore, on a day-to-day life and almost without realizing it, we are simply dealing with the aspects that concern us, anticipating negative events that have not yet occurred and eliminating all kinds of risks or imbalances in the environment that may affect us. Affect in some respects: physical, social, emotional, etc.
Do experts in resilience neurobiology say moderate stress or?Eustress, is it the best of all: it prepares us for action. However, when we are tortured by worries, fears, memories of the past and anxieties about the future, what?becomes chronic and alters the brain genetically and neurologically. This is where mental problems arise, unhappiness and the inability to adapt to contexts, already complex by their very nature.
On the other hand, and while we all know that stress management can be formed in the same way as resilience, there are people who are born with this skill naturally and there are also those who have serious difficulties with the little ones. problems, the most everyday, the reason for this?Resilience neurobiology indicates that there are more or less “resistances”.
In early 2016, the magazine? Nature ?, published an interesting study on the neurobiology of resilience, which explains that this capacity is related to a number of very specific brain areas: cerebral neocortex and, at the subcortical level, amygdala, hippocampus and locus coeruleus.
The most fascinating and striking thing is undoubtedly hormonal and neurotransmitter activity, which promotes or hinders the ability to be resilient.
One of the most common factors that can differentiate less resilient people are their early experiences, so a childhood marked by insecurity, lack of affection, abuse or a specific traumatic event causes the child harmful stress that influences their subsequent brain development.
Thus, in the context of resilience neurobiology, it is also common to differentiate between infant orchids and children’s dandelions:
Finally, and as the neurobiology of resilience shows, the ability to rely more or less on this attribute depends, at first glance, on a number of hormones and neurotransmitters, on epigenetics and on the quality of our childhood, factors that may certainly seem a little “deterministic”; However, as noted earlier in this article, resilience is also learned, developed and applied.
Studies on brain neuroplasticity and how to initiate new behaviors, adopt new patterns of thoughts and attitudes, can make the brain a much more resistant organ are an example, we must not forget that it is always good to invest more in ourselves, to learn. how to face big and small challenges with more energy, strength and optimism.