All-Veterans Wellness Toolbox

1a. Welcome to the All-Veterans Wellness Toolbox

Greetings from RSLWA CEO, Vince Connelly.

1b. About the Resilience Shield

The Resilience Shield is an Australian Veteran-owned business working to improve outcomes related to leadership and resilience. Our proprietary Resilience Shield model was developed by Dr Dan Pronk, Ben Pronk DSC, and Tim Curtis, all of whom are Australian SAS veterans with combat experience in theatres including Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone and Timor Leste. Their service experience furnished them with an understanding of leadership under pressure and drove a deep desire to understand exactly what resilience was and – crucially –how it could be developed and improved in individuals and organisations.

1c. Resilience and Stress

Explore the relationship between resilience and stress with Ben Pronk DSC and Tim Curtis, co-authors of the Resilience Shield.

2. The Mind Layer

The psychological and spiritual components of resilience are profound, and we explore these in depth in the Mind Layer. This layer includes discussion of mindfulness, breathing techniques, meditation and gratitude, focusing on practical and accessible methods of incorporating these into our lives.

3. Mindset

Here, we introduce techniques and philosophies that will empower you to reframe life’s events – the everyday and the profound – to bolster resilience and develop what Stanford University professor Carol Dweck refers to as a ‘growth mindset’.

4. The Body Layer

Here, we examine the physiological elements of resilience – comprising sleep, diet and exercise. We examine methods of incrementally improving these areas in a realistic, achievable and sustainable manner, and of the benefits of seeking physical activities that also allow us to strengthen other layers of our Resilience Shield.

5. Exercise and Injury Management

Here, we expand on the Body Layer with Luke Gregory from Life Ready Physio in the Perth CBD, delving into exercise, injury management, and chronic pain.

6. The Social Layer

Our interactions with other people are a key component of what it means to be human, however too often we sacrifice these crucial moments. The Social Layer of the Resilience Shield focuses on how these interactions help develop resilience, and in turn will allow you to identify the critical social engagements in your life and prioritise these – not only in terms of time, but also in terms of the mindfulness and presence that you bring to each experience.

7. The Professional Layer

This layer refers to the time we spend at work. It is important that humans are able to find their work meaningful and a source of (rather than a detractor to) resilience. The Professional Layer of the Resilience Shield is about understanding how different expressions of competence can affect individual resilience and the importance of finding meaning in these pursuits. Leveraging off principles within the Mind Layer, the Professional Layer also emphasises the ability to reframe work-related challenges as opportunities for development.

8. Miquela Riley on Transitioning

RSLWA Vice President Miquela Riley talks about transitioning from the Australian Defence Force back into civilian life.

9. The Adaptation Layer

The final layer of the Resilience Shield, Adaptation, surrounds the entire model and can be seen as an output of a fully mature shield. Having developed each of the previous layers, we will be in a position to adapt our learnings and experience to face any novel challenge – we will truly have the defences to remain resilient against anything life throws at us!

10. Always, a Little Further: Help is Available

Concepts such as ‘getting active in your own rescue’ and going ‘always, a little further’ don’t mean that you should do things all by yourself!   If you or a colleague are feeling depressed, stressed or anxious and particularly if this is accompanied with feelings of hopelessness or ideation of self-harm or suicide, then the smartest move is to go ‘always, a little further’ in the direction of professional help.