Imagine driving down a road and suddenly coming to a detour sign. Without warning, you are taken off course, heading from a smooth path onto a bumpy road. As you maneuver and adjust to the new circumstance, you strengthen your capacity to expand and adapt. This is resilience.
New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult once said, “The human capacity for burden is like bamboo — far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance.”
For the Ask Dr. Sheila column, Dr. Sheila Patel, Chopra’s Chief Medical Officer, answers questions from our community. If you have a general question for Sheila around health and wellness, please send an email to askdrsheila@chopra.com, and your question may be the one she answers next.
A great professional goal is to love what you do and feel invigorated by doing it. I, personally, am constantly evolving my career so it meets (or comes close to) these objectives daily. There were times in my life, however, when this goal was definitely out of reach. During my medical training I experienced several episodes of burnout, with fatigue, disenchantment, and an intermittently despairing mood. This caused me to embark upon a multi-year mission to heal myself and transform my career into something I could genuinely love and successfully manage without losing my balance.
Gabriella Wright appears on our video call and instantly exudes warmth and tenderness. At her home in California, wearing a white button-down, her hair loose and long, Wright settles in with a green juice and greets me just the same as the first time we spoke—with kindness, joy, and a sparkle in her eyes.
“Nunca sabes lo fuerte que eres, hasta que ser fuerte es la única opción” – Bob Marley
We treasure our intimate relationships for an infinite number of reasons. With our partner, we experience joy, rapture, safety, friendship, and pleasure. We create a safe haven from the outside world in which we can nourish and be nourished.
It’s hard to imagine our world without salt. In fact, it would be impossible since salt — or, sodium, rather — plays such an important role in the human body’s natural functions, and in Mother Nature. “Salt is closely tied, along with water, to the origins of life and, thus has numerous enlivening properties,” says Chaye McIntosh, the clinical director at ChoicePoint. Beyond these properties and the essential role it plays in bodily function, salt is also incredibly healing for the mind, body, and spirit.
When we are young, we are no stranger to resilience. As children, we are constantly trying new things — such as sports, games, and creative activities — meeting new people, and putting ourselves out there to form lasting friendships. But, as we get older and into adulthood, we start to lose a little bit of resilience. And, on top of that, we have a lot more responsibilities, worries, pressures, and roles than we did as kids.