take heart, optimists. we're alright after all.

during and after disasters such as september the 11th and hurricane katrina, national attention turns towards how the nation can help survivors. those in the mental health community, naturally, focus on how they can help as well. in the wake of last year's tsunami, media outlets also noted the need for more than simply monetary aide - victims needed counseling, as well. surprisingly, some victims resisted or ignored this kind of aid, pleading instead for more food and help rebuilding their cities. an article in june's psychological science confirms that this may actually be a better allocation of crisis resources.

we image that people confronted with disasters must have a disturbed pattern of functioning. it makes sense; people should have a difficult time moving on after extraordinarily traumatic events. however, george bonanno at columbia university claims:

...the most common reaction among adults exposed to such events is a relatively stable pattern of healthy functioning coupled with the enduring capacity for positive emotion and generative experiences.

given our pop psychological understanding of reaction to tragedy, this surprised me. why does it seem as if people should be less resilient than they are? two posibilities come to mind. first, traumatized victims are a better media story, increasing our perception of their actual incidence in a normal population. a cynic would also say it's in the mental health field's best interest to portray their services as necessary for everyone, but i'm not sure that's always the case, as most of them do seem honestly convinced of being essential.

this study is much needed as it highlights human's amazing coping mechanisms and the power of social networks. it shows our ability to eek out a happy - or at least satisfied - life following very unfortunate events. and that's not so bad.

for more on the good stuff in psychology, see positive psychology.

source: bonanno, george. resilience in the face of potential trauma. psychological science, june 2005

update: fixing typos, that's all.

Labels: social, well being