Resilience is a virtue or personal quality that we all need to make our life productive or at least manageable. It is being alert, flexible and agile. It refers to the capacity to withstand, recover, and adapt in the face of adversity, trauma, or significant stress. As a personal quality, resilience makes a person face a situation with calmness, strength and courage. It involves coping skills, mental toughness, and emotional stability. This virtue seems to be more important in today’s complex world than ever before.
Successful people are resilient to the core. Their words and examples enthuse us forward. Bob Marley, the reggae artist said, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” The great scientist Thomas Edison after failing numerous times when inventing the electric bulb said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Resilience is not just about bouncing back from our fall and failure, it’s about growing, learning, finding new ways and becoming stronger.
Resilience is important for people of all ages and all places. But given the impact of modern period young people, especially the teenagers seem to need them more than any other age bracket. Teenage is a period of strength and vulnerability, of creativity and depth-lessness, openness as well as direction-lessness and tons of other opposites.
Almost all the teenagers, especially the students in high schools are affected by one or more of the following problems and challenges: transition from one level of education to another, academic pressures and expectations from parents, learning difficulties, lack or poor educational facility, stress arising from family situations such as unstable marital status of parents and other relationship issues, peer pressure accompanied by social exclusion, alcoholism, drug abuse and other addictive behaviours, social media and technology pressures, and many others.
Young people dropping out of school is a pressing problem in some parts of Uganda. Though often it is caused by poverty, it is also noted that a good number of students drop out of school due to their own behaviour issues, peer pressure and their inability to cope with problems often caused by themselves. As educators it is important to build resilience in young people to cope with the challenges. A youngster who is 16 and above can find many solutions on their own. They are to be educated in this important aspect of growth.
Many of these problems and challenges are sure to come and unfortunately to a great extent teenagers are not given enough tools to face them with tranquillity or at least minimum capacity. In the field of education and their study, they are not given tips to build self-esteem and confidence building, coping mechanisms in academic pressures, study skills, orientation and guidance in their future careers.
Often these young minds are deeply affected by family setbacks, relationship issues among their parents, divorce and separation, abandonment and child-neglect that come with deprivation of basic needs, separation from siblings and extended family.
Young people also go through economic/financial stress though they are not the direct cause (or solutions) of them. We can confidently say that more than 50% of young Ugandans are deprived of a serene environment of study and period of intellectual formation. In any given school of medium standard, almost 75% of learners are sent home for school fees during the term of study. This causes disruption of lessons, personal study time and planned academic improvement. These moments cause enormous weight of stress.
Early this year the Ministry of Health intimated that about 18% of the Ugandan population suffers from some degree of mental health. Though these statistics are doubted by some, we are certain that the stress level among people, including young children is rather high which needs a consolidated attention. Continued stress can lead to trauma and unattended trauma can lead to deterioration of mental health in individuals.
Now the solution is to build resilience in people. It could be difficult to build resilience in grown up adults, but it is not very difficult to build and improve resilience among young people. It can be done within their educational and formation programme. We only need to make the right strategy and create the right moment and environment. It can be well incorporated within their study programme and educational setting.
The benefits of building resilience for teenagers are much desired. In a teenager with a high level of resilience we can see an improved academic performance, better mental health and well-being, increased self-confidence and self-esteem. They will be in possession of an effective coping mechanism in the face of difficulties, anxiety and stress, and a greater sense of purpose and motivation. In brief, through the improved emotional intelligence they will be in a better likelihood of achieving long-term goals.
As mentioned before, though improving resilience among young people is easier than for adults, it is important to put in place consistent educational and behavioural procedures. It requires a combination of self-awareness, intentional habits, and supportive relationships. They could be identifying strengths and weaknesses of the persons concerned, recognize emotions and thought patterns and understand values and goals.
The fluctuating emotions can be regulated through prayer, meditation, healthy sleep habits, adequate physical activities, and stress relaxation exercises such as breathing, fitness exercises. Positive relationships with family, friends and classmates are vital; building strong connections through active listening and empathy and participating in group activities can help too.
Strengthening virtues and good qualities will build in students coping skills, problem-solving techniques, this will result in reduction of negative thoughts and increase self-compassion. Hobbies such as writing poetry, short stories, and journaling will eventually help in developing a growth mindset which will bring about realistic goals and achievements. For these activities there is a need for counsellors, spiritual guides, church elders and mature teachers, and not forgetting parents and mature adults within young people’s own families. Through these measures certainly we help our Uganda’s youth to stay in school and finish their education.
Fr. Lazar Arasu SDB – Headmaster, Don Bosco SS Atede-Gulu