Absolute Citrin
by Richard Citrin
March 28, 2018
Wellness and Resilience
I’m attending the 28th annual Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference in San Diego where I will be speaking on the Resilience Advantage.
Conference participants are leaders in the area of health promotion. They come from business, health systems, insurance companies, and academic settings. Their commonality is a deep belief in helping people to create healthy workplaces and personal lifestyles.
In my presentation, people will want me to tell them how to develop resilience in their lives but instead I’ll be sharing with them the importance of understanding and recognizing the resilience they already have built into them.
Resilience is always framed against stress and that orientation creates the immediate victim mentality of “I’m so stressed.” I hope to impart to them that what actually happens which is that we handle our challenges and adversities amazingly well.
My goal this week will be to influence the thinking of as many of these thought leaders as I can so that they bring resilience back to their workplaces as an alternative strategy for addressing the epidemic levels of stress in our work sites.
I invite you to take some time this week to consider how well you’ve handled some recent difficulties. Pass them along on the blog or drop me a note. Would love to share some of your stories.
© Richard Citrin, All rights reserved, 2018
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Richard;
When I read your blog I was glad that you focus on our current abilities to deal with stress. You asked for examples of how we deal with stress.
The last few months have been very trying for me. And the last week especially. I have multiple physical aliments (RA, Migraines & Sleep Apnea). Last Friday I got a call from my 25 year old daughter that she was in the hospital for a heart attack. My daughter has been a Type I diabetic for 10 years. I rushed to the hospital to be by her side. Of course I prayed the whole way to the hospital. They put a stent into her heart and from that she developed a blood clot. She was in a lot of pain and I stayed awake most of the night rubbing her leg. The next day they removed the clot but she started to bleed out. The hospital gave her a blood transfusion. Again I prayed to God to give me strength and to help my little girl survive.
Monday I stayed with her during the day and I was able to work from the hospital. That evening I received a call from my sister that they had admitted my dad into the hospital for complications from a recent surgery.
My world felt like it was crashing down around me. I continued to pray. I believe I had to dig deeper into my reliance reserves more than I ever have.
My deep faith in a Higher Power and my believe that God is in control of everything gave me the strength to deal with all my situations. Yes, I cried, Yes I was afraid at times. Yes I just wanted to crawl under the blankets and shut out the problems, but I didn’t. I know there are dark hours as well as situations that are pure joy. I know that things will get better eventually and I only had to take one step at a time. I needed to be in the present and focus on being a support system for my family. I refuse to be a victim and instead focus on being a survivor. I won’t give up. I know that God has a purpose and a plan for my life and my daughter’s.
Thanks for sharing your story and I hope it all works out okay