Another campaign has opened, but we are a strong nation. We have the resilience to stand. In Israel, people love to talk about resilience. The concept has been an integral part of the discourse in recent years. We told ourselves, and rightly so, about the rapid organizational capacity, the volunteering, the mutual support and the ability to keep moving forward even in difficult times. However, as the war dragged on, accompanied by prolonged military reserve duty, economic uncertainty, the hostage crisis, and now also the campaign against Iran, more and more professionals began to ask a different question: What happens when resilience itself begins to tire?
After all, human beings are not built to live in a state of emergency for months and years. Even those who manage to function, work, care for their family and maintain a certain routine, pay an invisible, cumulative price. Resilience fatigue is not a dramatic collapse but rather a gradual erosion of mental and physical resources after a prolonged period of coping.
The body does not understand that the emergency is not over
The stress system is designed to deal with short-term dangers. When a person senses a threat, the body secretes adrenaline and cortisol, increases the heart rate, heightens alertness and prepares them for action. In the short term, this is an essential mechanism that aids survival.
The problem begins when the emergency state does not end. Numerous studies in the field of stress medicine indicate that prolonged exposure to psychological stress causes what is known as "allostatic load" – a cumulative wear and tear on body systems resulting from the overactivation of coping mechanisms. In such a state, sleep disturbances, impaired concentration, decreased immune system function, chronic fatigue, digestive problems, headaches and an increase in anxiety and depression levels may appear. Meaning that even when a person does not feel they are in a crisis, their body continues to react as if the threat is still present.
Resilience fatigue does not look like a collapse. On the contrary. In many cases, it appears precisely in people who seem exceptionally strong. Those who continue to come to work, care for children, look after elderly parents, volunteer and help others.
On the outside, everything looks fine. But inside, something has changed. Many people describe a feeling of fatigue that does not go away even after rest. Impatience, a decline in motivation, difficulty enjoying things that used to bring them joy or a feeling that they are operating on "automatic pilot." Not sadness, but rather a sense of emotional numbness. As if the internal system decided to conserve energy.
Resilience is not the ability to pretend that everything is fine, but rather to acknowledge that reality is difficult, frightening and sometimes also painful, and yet continue to act. A resilient person is not someone who does not feel anxiety or sadness, but someone who is capable of containing these emotions without being paralyzed by them.
Repression, on the other hand, can look like strength from the outside. The person continues to function and does not stop for a moment. However, in the long run, emotions that are not given space tend to find expression in other ways – through sleep, the body, relationships or a sense of burnout. Therefore, more and more psychologists today emphasize that resilience is not the absence of distress, but the ability to deal with it in a healthy way.
Long and continuous emotional load causes people to become less patient and less emotionally available. Many couples discover that their conversations have turned into task management. They talk about the children, the work, the news and the bills, but less about dreams, plans and emotions. Friendships are also affected. People give up on get-togethers, reduce social connections and prefer to stay at home because of exhaustion. Thus, loneliness is created precisely in a period when one is surrounded by people.
How do you refill the reservoirs of resilience?
It is important to understand that resilience can be restored and strengthened like a muscle. The first step is to acknowledge the fatigue. Fatigue after a prolonged period of tension is an expected human reaction.
In the second stage, basic conditions for recovery must be returned to the body. Quality sleep, regular physical activity, reducing continuous exposure to the news, meeting with friends and real rest time have been found in studies to be factors that help the nervous system exit a continuous emergency state.
It is also important to create small islands of certainty within the uncertain reality. A routine activity, a weekly meeting, a hobby, volunteering or a personal goal provide the brain with a sense of stability and control – key components in dealing with stress.
One should not just continue to function at all costs, but remain connected to ourselves, and to life. It is highly recommended to share, vent, cry, go to therapy, and it is possible to raise the vitality level by walking barefoot on the seashore during hours when the sun is not strong. Because true resilience is knowing when to stop, ask for help, and also rest.
The author is a certified therapist on behalf of the HeartMath Institute, VP of the Integrative Array at Medical Care