Studies have suggested that chronic exposure to stress may have an influence on increased blood pressure. A systematic review followed by a meta-analysis was conducted aiming to assess the effect of psychological stress on blood pressure increase. Research was mainly conducted in Ingenta, Psycinfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria were: published in any language; from January 1970 to December 2006; prospective cohort design; adults; main exposure psychological/emotional stress; outcome arterial hypertension or blood pressure increase > 3.5mmHg. A total of 2,043 studies were found, of which 110 were cohort studies. Of these, six were eligible and yielded 23 comparison groups and 34,556 subjects. Median follow-up time and loss to follow-up were 11.5 years and 21%. Results showed individuals who had stronger responses to stressor tasks were 21% more likely to develop blood pressure increase when compared to those with less strong responses (OR: 1.21; 95%CI: 1.14-1.28; p < 0.001). Although the magnitude of effect was relatively small, results suggest the relevance of the control of psychological stress to the non-therapeutic management of high blood pressure.

Economic and environmental interventions in the Anthropocene have created disruptions that are threatening the capacity of socio-ecological systems to recover from adversities and to be able to maintain key functions for preserving resilience. The authors of this paper underscore the benefits of a workshop-based methodology for developing a vision and an approach to the inner processes of creation that can be used to increase resilience, to cope with societal vulnerabilities and to develop the tools for future planning at local, regional and global scales. Diverse areas of discourse ranging from climate science and sustainability, to psychoanalysis, linguistics and eco-philosophy, contributed meaningfully to the transdisciplinary approach for enhancing resilience. A framework is proposed that can be used throughout society, that integrates the importance of human subjectivity and the variability of human contexts, especially gender, in shaping human experiences and responses to climate change impacts and challenges such as the covid-19 pandemic. Within the domain of socio-economic research, the authors challenge researchers and policy makers to expand future perspectives of resilience through the proposed systemic resilience vision. Movement towards transformative thinking and actions requires inner exploration and visualization of desirable futures for integrating ecological, social, cultural, ethical, and economic dimensions as agencies for catalyzing the transition to livable, sustainable, equitable, ethical, and resilient societies.

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Resilience is a process in which communities collectively respond to significant events, using various coping and adaptive capacities. This scenario has mobilized reflections and strategies on the need to build resilient and regenerative cities with the capacity to recover from disasters and sustainably adapt to changes. The ecosystemic view of resilience perceives the individual incorporated into a web of complex relationships so that the individual, the family, and the environment are interconnected, and each sphere contributes to coping with adversities. This qualitative research was outlined in a case study conducted online with 200 individuals, of which 150 are students aged 11 to 13 years and 50 teachers, from four municipal schools. The research answered the following question: How does the knowledge of feelings and the ways of dealing with them in adolescents and teachers influence the development of a resilient and regenerative city? Content analysis was applied to analyze the data with the aid of the software NVivo version 20. The research was conducted through the Quality of Life Project Knowing the Feelings promoted by the Resilient City Program in the Municipality of Veranópolis in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The results showed the importance of the project for people’s lives and the understanding of their feelings for developing themselves and strengthening resilience. The preparation to exercise citizenship begins with the knowledge about oneself and the environment in which one lives, aiming to interpret and act in society responsibly and, in this process, build a resilient and regenerative community.