Jason Bernic | Executive Life Coach | Success Coaching | mail me |
For the first time ever, we can measure a person’s genetic capacity for resilience and improve it – thanks to a ground-breaking new DNA test which has been developed by a South African biotech company.
Resilience refers to a person’s grit – their ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. It is what gives people the psychological strength to cope with stress and hardship.
Resilience has become essential as we all grapple to adjust and cope with the effects of the pandemic on our lives and livelihoods.
Genetic factors
It was once thought that personal resilience, and its required characteristics, was a learned skill.
However, it is not just a mindset – science has discovered that there are in fact genetic factors in everyone’s DNA which affect how resilient they naturally are – in fact 80% of our resilience is genetically predetermined. This is where the pioneering new DNA test for resilience enters the picture.
This new genetic test – which has been developed in collaboration between DNAlysis, one of South Africa’s premier genetic testing laboratories, and Sutton Health, a provider of stress and health management solutions to corporate organisations – measures seven molecular pathways which directly impact a person’s ability to be resilient.
These are:
- Serotonin
- Dopamine
- Oxytocin
- Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
- Norepinephrine
- Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and
- one’s Stress Axis.
All of these molecular neurochemicals play a key part in a person’s genetic ability to be resilient.
Boosting resilience
Everyone who does the resilience DNA test receives a detailed report which indicates whether you have high, moderate or low levels of these seven areas of resilience.
The good news, and the driving factor behind having this genetic test done, is that there are adaptations that one can make which positively impact your resilience levels.
So even if you score low in any of the areas of resilience, the report then provides valuable insights into how you can optimise these areas and boost your resilience using personalised interventions and strategies.
These interventions are suggested under the categories of amended diet; the addition of nutraceutical and supplements; exercise; and lifestyle adaptations – all of which can help you to improve your resilience levels.
Once I receive a clients DNA report back, I then work with them to analyse, discuss and understand the results.
In collaboration with a network of professional practitioners within the various relevant fields, the listed recommended adaptations – which can potentially seem overwhelming in their entirety – are turned into a practical and achievable plan, setting out simple steps that can be taken to nurture and improve resilience levels.
Poor resilience
Following this, I then work with my clients to action these interventions and include them in their daily practices.
Poor resilience means that a person is more inclined towards anxiety and depression with an increased risk of chronic illness. Building one’s resilience means more health, and mental wellbeing. This is potentially a life-changing test.
Now that we understand the science behind what makes us resilient, we can take steps to improve on this essential trait.
The DNA test for resilience is the first of its kind, there is nothing else like it out there and I am extremely excited to be able to offer this to my clients to help them cope, and indeed excel, in their personal and professional lives.
I am including this test as a standard for all private and executive clients – really anyone that takes any sort of a leadership role.
