How to boost your emotional immunity

If a mad scientist could come up with a vaccination that gave us emotional immunity, we would be all lining up no matter how long the wait. Alas, there is no such thing … or is there?

None of us is immune to emotional pain, but we can build up our immunity system by assembling an arsenal of fortifying emotions such as self-compassion and temperance to ward off those pesky mean-spirited viruses. Ancient philosophers like Epicurus spoke of how to create the good life; modern philosophers talk about creating meaning and purpose; and today psychotherapists talk of cultivating resilience, restoring connection and creating perspective.

All these theorists have provided us with a wealth of knowledge for us to create our own individual serum to ward off or manage the viral infection of despondency, depression and distress. And we all need this uniquely formulated shot to the system as escalating rates of self-harm and suicide are reaching epidemic proportions. Pills and drug usage as well as alcohol abuse are on the rise, which show that our immunity is weakened and plummeting under the stress of living in this century.

The antidote to stress

So much attention has been given to this pandemic, but