Be Well

• Publication year: 2019
• Pages: 37
• Citation: Vol. 45 No. 3 Pg. 37

BE WELL Vol. 45 No. 3 Pg. 37 Vermont Bar Journal Fall, 2019

Lower Your Stress, Increase Your Resiliency

By Micaela Tucker, Esq.

I have always been interested in resilience—the ability to face adversity productively. From a wellness perspective, I do not buy in to the concept that we are each responsible and capable of handling all the world throws at us. I, for instance, would not have survived the crisis of raising a son with disabilities, had my community not carried us through his childhood. Impossible. Recent work at Harvard in childhood resilience has reinforced my belief in the importance of connection to resilience and how this connection might have some use for our legal community.

At the spring benefit lunch for our local Vermont Parent Child Center, I learned about Harvard's Center on the Developing Child and their work with Vermont babies and toddlers to boost resilience in our kids. Studies of resilience show that stress kills learning and development. This research, at a high level, has a two-pronged approach: first, prevent toxic stress by encouraging healthy interactions and second, build resilience by focusing on executive function development. Toxic stress in children comes from extreme, frequent, or prolonged adversity without the protection of a strong adult buffering relationship and is linked to lifelong health effects including high rates of diabetes, heart disease, suicide and obesity. The presence of toxic stress is also shown to interrupt executive function development, which is needed for successful progression of natural human development as well as economic and social success. Thus, the first step in ensuring resilience is to reduce toxic stress.

Preventing toxic stress on the brain through responsive interaction with children

The most reliable factor in reducing toxic stress among children is consistent healthy I interaction with a trusted adult. That healthy interaction-called a responsive relationship-is undergirded by a type of caring and thoughtful communication called "serve and return." It turns out that both childhood and tennis are no fun without a responsive partner. In the infant's or toddler's case, well-being requires a trusted adult partner who is sensitive and responsive to a young child's sounds, gestures and needs.

The five parts of "serve and return" communication are:

1. Notice the serve and share the focus of attention

2. Return the serve by supporting and encouraging

3. Give it...