What term refers to the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and trauma?

• A. Lobotomy
• B. Resilience
• C. Posttraumatic growth
• D. Psychiatrist

Answer: (B)

Resilience is the personal strength that helps most people cope with stress and recover from adversity and trauma. It means the ability to adapt, bounce back, and return toward one’s previous level of functioning after difficult experiences. This capacity isn’t fixed; it grows through supportive relationships, effective coping strategies, problem-solving, and maintaining a sense of purpose or meaning.

Think of resilience as the skill of staying emotionally and functioning-wise steady enough to navigate stress, rather than a guarantee of never feeling distressed. A related idea, posttraumatic growth, describes positive changes that can occur after trauma, but resilience specifically focuses on returning to baseline functioning and continuing with life after hardship.

An invasive brain procedure like a lobotomy and a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist aren’t traits or capacities, and posttraumatic growth refers to growth after trauma rather than the ongoing ability to cope.