In Chapters 8–10, we defined three components to the development of a non-melancholic disorder. Our emphasis in these chapters was on disorder risk, vulnerability, and their contribution to disorder onset. This is helpful to understand how an individual may become depressed and how treatment might assist. It is also important to consider the opposing pole of resilience, for strategies need to be applied to assist people to stay well and not experience repeated episodes. Thus, we now consider ‘Resilience’.

In her book entitled ‘Resilience’, Deveson (2003) observes that, although the concept is difficult to define, we all seem to know it and we can usually identify those whom we would call ‘resilient’. In the Oxford English Dictionary, resiliency is referred to as the ability to rebound or resume shape after stretching, not dissimilar to Hooke's Law. When used in the context of psychological well-being, resiliency usually refers to the recuperative power of an individual in coping with extreme or unusual stressors, such as a serious financial loss or the breakup of an important relationship. Definitions of resilience and resiliency have also changed over time to reflect some of the key virtues of a given society at a certain time. For example, 300 years ago, the ability of black slaves in America to tolerate and survive their numerous hardships would not have been regarded as particularly noteworthy.