Corrections_Today_March_April_2023_Vol.85_No.2

■ WELL-BEING

Improving staff resilience can be done by teaching life management skills. It may not be the responsibility of the organization to oversee individuals’ personal lives, but it will further the mission of the organization if it teaches staff life management skills in orientation and in-service training. In general, staff do not learn these skills anywhere else, and having an emotionally healthy and resilient staff is obviously in the best interest of the organization. This article will approach improving staff resilience in two ways: what we do and how we think. What we do involves the following: family and friends, positive social interactions, exercise, meditation, sleep and flow [which is explained later]. How we think includes: mindfulness [savoring, breath, body and heart focus], visualization, attitude [optimism, reframing, gratitude, and forgiveness], belief and goals. Having a good support system of family and friends is much more important to us than just having good mental health. It is also important for physical health, especially heart health, which is a frequent problem for staff. Social isolation or loneliness produces a greater risk of heart disease than smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and excessive alcohol consumption combined (McCraty, 2015. P.82). The most important relationship is the one with a partner, whether married or not. Successful partners: (Lyubomirsky, 2007, p.143-149) – Spend five more hours a week than unsuccessful partnerships being together and talking. This does not include watching TV or surfing the web, which actually rob couples of valuable intimate time. – Have five positive interactions for every negative interaction. – Communicate admiration and gratitude directly. – Take delight in the partner’s successes and good fortune. This is true for friendships in general. – Manage conflicts successfully. It helps a great deal when partners are actually good friends. – Share their inner life — rituals, dreams, goals, etc. – Hug; hugging is an excellent intimacy and friendship booster. What we do Support Systems

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If your partner is excited to tell you something, pay close attention and ask a lot of questions. Relive the experience with them. If someone is silently supportive, uninterested or points out the downside of good news, their relationships tend to be less close, less intimate and less trusting (Lyubomirsky, 2007. p.145). Volunteering Another way to experience positive social interactions is to volunteer in your community. Not only will you improve relationships with the community, but you will experience numerous benefits yourself. Volunteering and acts of kindness diminish depression and the sense of isolation and enhance feelings of happiness, self-worth, personal control and simply witnessing these acts boosts one’s mood. Exercise Exercise impacts nearly every system in the body. It is especially important for brain health. In fact, it may be the most important thing you can do for your brain. It improves mood [immediately], attention, memory, reaction time and increases energy, and decreases depression and anxiety. In fact, it is more effective at relieving depression than medication. Exercise improves the anatomy, physiology and function of the brain and it literally creates new brain cells protecting it from degeneration later in life (Suzuki, 2017). The legs

24 — March/April 2023 Corrections Today