How Well Do You Bounce Back?

This tool measures your resiliency — your ability to bounce back from stressful situations. People who are resilient recover quickly from disruptive change, illness, or misfortune without being overwhelmed or acting in destructive ways.

Although this tool is not for diagnosis, it may help you find out whether you should seek help from a therapist.

Improving your resiliency skills does not happen overnight. Resiliency develops through gradual, small changes in your outlook on life and careful self-evaluation. Some people can begin this shift on their own. Others may find a counselor or therapist helpful.

Resiliency is what we need to face life’s inevitable difficulties. It gives you the ability to bounce back, even from a lifetime of painful trauma or tragedy.

How you answer will determine what your score will be. Your score will appear as one of the following:

  • You are highly resilient. You have the characteristics needed to bounce back from the worst situations.
  • You are moderately resilient. You can deal with stress and change in your life, but you could improve.
  • You are not very resilient. Although you have some qualities that help you deal with stress, you need to develop more qualities and strengthen others. Talking to a therapist may help.

As with all check-up tools, this tool gives you a place to start. Keep in mind that a higher score does not necessarily mean that you’re not resilient. Also, a lower score does not always mean you are completely resilient. But using this tool is not a substitute for a thorough evaluation by a therapist.