Joe says:

Friedrich Nietzche was right – sort of – when he said, “What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.”

The German philosopher’s famous line was recently put to the test as part of a national study of the effects of adverse life events on mental health. The study, which included almost 2,400 participants ages 18 to 101, examined how successfully people adapt after exposure to stressful or traumatic life events or circumstances.

In studies of human resilience over the past three decades, such adverse life events – including physical or sexual assault, loss of a parent and homelessness - have generally been linked to poorer mental health outcomes.

But this new study shows that, under the right circumstances, some adversity may foster resilience. Participants in the study who had experienced and overcome some lifetime adversity showed lower distress, fewer symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and higher life satisfaction. They also appeared to handle current adversity better than other participants.

Researchers suggest that people are more resilient than we may think, and that some adversity can help people develop a “psychological immune system” to help them cope with the slings and arrows that life throws. On the other hand, people with no experience of adversity may have a hard time dealing with tough times.

So, if you have some adversity going on right now, take solace in Niezche’s insight. Once you get through the situation, handling that adversity can make you a stronger person.
1 | Nov. 2, 2010 at 8:09pm