Building Your Resilience: Finding Meaning in Adversity
Season 1
Research shows we thrive when we embrace problems, confident that we're resilient enough to work through them. In "Building Your Resilience: Finding Meaning in Adversity," you’ll learn how to create greater resilience. Whether you’re a trauma survivor or someone who is simply reaching for a more fulfilling and joyful life, your life will be enriched when you proactively increase your resilience.
2020
24 episodes
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S1 E1 - The Foundation of Resilience
June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Will we be crippled by adversity or see an opportunity for growth? The answer lies in our ability to be resilient. Meet the eight themes of resilience this course will bring to life: core values and purpose, finding meaning in adversity, equanimity, self-care, healthy coping skills, a positive sense of self, support and connection with others, and a proactive worldview.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Whether or not you think of yourself as a hero, chances are the adversity in your life has caused you to walk the hero’s journey. Discover what that journey entails (illustrated by your instructor’s own life) from initial call to adventure through the ordeal and rebirth, until stepping into your new truth in a world that no longer seems as ordinary as you’d once thought.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E3 - The Resilient Human Spirit
June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Learn how humans have nurtured a spirit of resilience for thousands of years through instinct, “deep listening,” the Golden Rule, rites of passage, and faith (whether spiritual or not). Studying these practices, scientists are now confirming and promoting some of these techniques as ways to process adverse experiences and return to harmony.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E4 - The Consequences of Stress
June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Humans have always experienced periods of acute stress, and we have the nervous system to prove it. Explore how the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the fight-flight-freeze response, and how the parasympathetic nervous system relaxes the body when the cause of stress has passed. But if the cause of stress becomes chronic, serious long-term health consequences can result.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E5 - Mastering Physical Resilience
June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
We often think of physical resilience as our body’s physical strength and fitness (the stronger we are, the quicker we’ll bounce back). But that’s only part of it. Learn about the additional skills needed to recover well from physical stress, illness, or injury. You’ll see that building physical resilience is not just what you do, it’s also how and why you do it.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E6 - Improving Emotional Resilience
June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
We’ve been socialized to believe positive emotions are good and negative emotions are bad, but that is far from the truth. Our emotions are simply our individual responses to the situations we experience; we can accept, pay attention to, and learn from all of them. Explore some coping mechanisms for regulating your emotions, which some scientists see as the single most vital aspect of resilience.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E7 - Strengthening Mental Resilience
June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Our mind has the power to make or break our ability to recover from adversity. While we can’t completely control what we think, we can control how we understand and react to those thoughts. Explore the important relationships between your thoughts, belief systems, and core values, and learn why psychological flexibility is the foundation of mental resilience.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E8 - The Practice of Self-Care
June 1, 2020
34min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Does self-care sound uncomfortably self-focused and egotistical to you? If so, remember that caring for yourself is a crucial component of your own resilience, as well as giving you the energy and ability to help others. Learn how the Wheel of Life exercise can help you determine where you’re lacking in self-care, and how to create and manage your own Self-Care Journal to improve your resilience.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E9 - The Rewards of Sleep
June 1, 2020
30min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
We often think of sleep as simply what’s left over at the end of the day. But to the contrary: Healthy sleep patterns can transform your life with improved physical and mental health, better memory, and even increased longevity. Learn how to prepare your bedroom, your body, and your mind for high-quality sleep, and the many ways in which your phone can both hinder and help you achieve that goal.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E10 - Finding Equanimity with Mindfulness
June 1, 2020
35min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Our lives can feel like maelstroms of sensory input, thoughts, and emotions. But there is a way to find the stillness that permanently exists beneath it all: meditation. Validated by thousands of scientific studies, meditation has been proven to enhance almost every aspect of life. Experience the power of mindfulness meditation and learn how it can help you find peace in the present moment.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E11 - Understanding Trauma
June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
All trauma, whether caused by a single event or prolonged exposure to a traumatic pattern, affects our physical body and our mind. Trauma causes specific changes in the brain and even in the genetics of reproduction. Learn why, without help, the mind and body can get stuck in the loop of the sympathetic nervous system’s trauma response. And how, with appropriate help, the mind and body can heal.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E12 - Discovering Post-Traumatic Growth
June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Those who can process their trauma can move forward to become stronger, wiser, and more resilient. Using Harriet Beecher Stowe as a fascinating example, you’ll learn how post-traumatic growth can lead to improved personal strength, the opening of new possibilities, spiritual change, and greater appreciation for life. We can become more resilient because of, not despite, adversity.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E13 - Suzi Landolphi on Post-Traumatic Growth
June 1, 2020
28min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
You'll thoroughly enjoy this enlightening conversation between your instructor and Suzi Landolphi, a well-known leader in the post-traumatic growth movement, who currently works with combat veterans as a PATHH Guide (Progressive and Alternative Training for Healing Heroes). Just as trauma can be transmitted to successive generations, so can post-traumatic growth.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E14 - Cultivating Community and Connection
June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Human beings are wired for connection to others; our initial cognitive development depends on physical touch, and our “mirror neurons” teach us how to be human based on our interactions with others. Learn how to develop quality connections with others, connections that will help you thrive and increase resilience. Your instructor shares the inspiring stories of two individuals who did just that.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E15 - Finding Safety
June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
When we feel unsafe, our brains become stuck in the response of the sympathetic nervous system and we have very little access to higher cognitive functioning. Learn how to increase your number of protective factors, increasing your feeling of safety and your resilience. The goal isn’t to eliminate the risk of danger, but rather to have as much control over it as possible.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E16 - Opening to Joy and Gratitude
June 1, 2020
34min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Authentic, lasting joy is an internal experience, not dependent upon any circumstances outside of ourselves. Learn how to find authentic joy by opening up to all of life (allowing yourself to feel the full range of your feelings, including those emotions you’ve been taught to bury) and taking responsibility for your own choices in your unique journey.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E17 - Practice 1: Building Resilience
June 1, 2020
33min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Instructor Birkholm takes you through a gentle yoga practice to help build awareness of your body, feelings, and beliefs. No yoga experience is necessary. You’ll be guided by this step-by-step instruction, which is modeled both standing and sitting. At the end of the practice, you’ll experience a deep relaxation pose, resting in the stillness that is always available to you.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E18 - Practice 2: De-stressing with Your Breath
June 1, 2020
28min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Learning to work with breathing is particularly powerful, as breath is the only function of the autonomic nervous system we can control. You’ll practice the three-part yogic breath, relaxation breath, energizing breath, and alternate-nostril breathing, among others. You’ll develop a better understanding of the yogic saying: “The mind affects the breath, and the breath affects the mind.”
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E19 - Practice 3: Promoting Sleep
June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
This practice will guide you through the steps of preparing for sleep. You’ll learn how to focus your attention on the good things that happened during your day as you start to settle in. You’ll enjoy relaxing all parts of the body (front, back, and sides), getting rid of tension wherever you’re carrying it. The guided meditation at the end of the practice might lead you directly into sleep.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E20 - Practice 4: Relaxing Yoga for Self-Care
June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
This yoga practice (whether sitting or lying down) releases your body’s tension and encourages you to connect to your physical experiences on a deeper level. You’ll learn movements and breathing techniques that can be used during an average day at a desk or in a car. You’ll learn to let the breath carry the pose and find that union between body, mind, breath, and spirit.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E21 - Practice 5: Practicing Mindfulness
June 1, 2020
31min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
In this mindfulness practice, you’ll continue to build awareness of your physical body, emotions, and mind. You’ll learn how to witness your thoughts and emotions in the present moment as they move in and out of your mind, without labeling them “good” or “bad.” This powerful practice will open up a new way for you to relate to your own thoughts, memories, and beliefs.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E22 - Practice 6: Evoking the Relaxation Response
June 1, 2020
35min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
In this practice, you’ll learn how to trigger your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, your relaxation response, whenever you want to calm down. You’ll use your breath to continually invite your body to relax, and then notice your body’s response without judgment. These techniques are always available to you and can be applied at any time throughout your day.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E23 - Practice 7: Finding Safety with Yoga Nidra
June 1, 2020
32min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
In this practice, you’ll learn how to find safety and peacefulness within yourself. You’ll be guided through a very deep relaxation, a safe and peaceful awareness similar to what you might experience just before sleep. This is the peace that is always available to you, no matter what’s going on around you in the outside world, a stillness you can always access.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
S1 E24 - Your Hero’s Journey
June 1, 2020
43min
PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Resilience, one of the most important skills we can master, is essential to navigating life successfully and reaching our fullest potential. As we each go through our own hero’s journey, we venture through life’s trials and tribulations, but also through its beauty and rewards. Learn how to identify and evaluate your personal strengths, and how they will help you on your own hero’s journey.
Included with your The Great Courses Signature Collection subscription
