Already a member or subscriber? Sign in now

Five tips to build resilience

FPM Editors
August 31, 2018

Resilience is the capacity to quickly recover from and cope with adverse circumstances and to view them as opportunities to become stronger. It is one of many methods physicians can use to respond to the pressures that cause burnout.

To cultivate resilience and gain internal power, five habits can help:

  1. Focus on accomplishing the activities and roles that are most important to you.
  2. Renew your energy by incorporating activities you enjoy into your day.
  3. Connect with family, friends, or colleagues regularly so that, when a crisis hits, you have a support system.
  4. Practice self-regulation by being aware of your feelings during stressful situations and choosing how to respond.
  5. Speak out when you feel anxious, depressed, marginalized, or abused, and when you see others who are suffering and need an advocate.

Adapted from "Five Ways to Cultivate Resilience.”

Posted on Aug 31, 2018 by FPM Editors

Copyright © 2026 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

This content is owned by the AAFP. A person viewing it online may make one printout of the material and may use that printout only for his or her personal, non-commercial reference. This material may not otherwise be downloaded, copied, printed, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any medium, whether now known or later invented, except as authorized in writing by the AAFP. See permissions for copyright questions and/or permission requests.