Simple Connections – Stronger Families

Posted in: Blogs, Positive Mental Health

Family resiliency is the ability of a family system to experience stress and not only recover from the stress, but come out of it stronger and healthier than before. It’s about more than just coping or surviving. It’s about bouncing forward.

Families as a unit have a resilience level of their own. Consider your own family:
Think about a time your family experienced something difficult (either big or small).
What helped you get through? When it was over what, if anything, changed for your family?
When families are aware and understand the strengths within themselves and their communities, they will be more motivated and able to engage, advocate and utilize their resources and skills within their communities.

We look to our families for love, support and enjoyment and we rely on our families when times are tough. Families shape us as we grow and families shape our society.

So why not make Albertan families as strong and resilient as possible? Resilient families are better able to cope with life’s challenges and provide the best environment for individuals to flourish.

While all families are unique, face different challenges and rely on different strengths to cope, there are some things all families can work on to become stronger. These protective factors include:

  • Personal wellness
  • Healthy communication
  • A sense of togetherness
  • Positive parenting style
  • Strong partner relationships
  • Connections to extended family
  • Connections to community

You can use the following tools to help build promotive and protective factors in your own family or those you work with, helping to increase resiliency.
https://albertahealthservices.ca/info/Page16039.aspx

Leah Hirst is an Addiction Prevention and Mental Health Promotion Facilitator for Alberta Health Services and can be reached at leah.hirst@ahs.ca

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