Clinical and Experimental Psychology

The Self-Optimization Model - An approach to Dealing with Stress and Building Resilience

Niamh Hannan^{* *}Correspondence: Niamh Hannan, Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Department of Psychology, Trinity College University, Ireland, Tel: +989131032621, Email:

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Negative Stress happens when the demands of a situation exceed our ability to cope. We go into a sense of overwhelm. How do we best deal with our stress reaction, which is often happening in response to something beyond our control?

I have developed a model, which may be applied in the home, in the workplace or in the therapy room, drawing on many evidence-based therapeutic approaches to dealing with stress.

Elements of Emotional Resilience

Emotional Resilience has three structure squares- these are the columns on which we can fabricate resilience or work on improving it. Additionally, alluded to as the three components of emotional resilience, the three components include:

The Physical Elements

Involving physical strength, energy, good health, and vitality.

The Mental or Psychological Elements

Counting perspectives like adjustability, attention and focus, self-esteem, selfconfidence, emotional awareness and regulation, self-expression, thinking, and reasoning abilities.

The Social Elements

Counting interpersonal relationships (work, accomplice, kids, guardians, companions, network, and so on), group conformity, likeability, communication, and co-operation.

Self-Optimization Model

Awareness: The first step to creating change is Awareness. One of the key skills in this stage is mindfulness, the ability to pause and bring awareness to self and to the situation. Cognitive Behavioral skills may also be included here.

Acceptance: The second stage is Acceptance. What am I resisting? Often, we do not have control over the pain or the painful event, but the more we resist what is happening, the more we suffer (Pain x Resistance = Suffering (Young, 1994). How can I begin to accept what I am experiencing in this moment?

Appropriate Response: The last stage of this model is choosing an appropriate response. This may involve Assertive Communication skills (including the important ability to say No); it may involve a decision, a change of approach; or the implementation of the Optimize Energy Model for self-care and stress management.

Persistence: Resilience training enables an individual to build up the consistency and duty to continue attempting. In the case of managing outside stressors or taking care of inward clashes, tirelessness keeps the internal inspiration alive.

Emotional Control: Individuals with more elevated levels of passionate and restraint can divert themselves and control their sentiments. They are less inclined to be overpowered by pressure or let it influence their lives. They think before taking the jump and won't flood quick into reaching inferences.

Flexible Thinking: Flexible thinking is a fundamental part of emotional wellbeing that contributes toward the individual and expert achievement of any person.

Optimizing Energy Model

In stage 3 of the Self-Optimization model, we look at the Energy Tank - what are the demands that are draining the tank? What is the individual or organization doing to fill the tank? The greater the set of demands, the more we need to be doing to fill the tank. Within this Optimize Energy Model we look at self-care and building a person’s resources to increase energy and well-being and build resilience to stress.

This Self-Optimizing Model may be adapted to suit the context or the individual’s approach, whilst teaching skills drawn from a wide variety of evidence-based approaches. It may be applied in many settings; as a parenting tool, a leadership skills approach, to resolve disputes, to grow emotional intelligence, to enhance team-work, to empower individuals, build resilience and ultimately optimizing our capacity to Be our real self and live to our full potential.