Martin Seligman, Resilience and PTSD - Further Conclusions Based on My Experience

A couple years ago I spent some time working with psychologist Martin Seligman on a DOD project. I had met him and heard him speak numerous times, and he was bringing his expertise in the area of optimism to help the military deal with the problem of service members returning from combat with PTSD - post-traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Seligman, a former president of the American Psychological Association and "father of positive psychology," is the well-known author of Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness.

His theory is that there's a strong connection between a pessimistic mindset and susceptibility to PTSD. He claims that not everyone is adversely affected by the stress and horrors of war. He talks about a phenomenon he calls "post-traumatic growth," in which most service members return from war made stronger by their experience. This recalls Friedrich Nietzsche's famous quote, "What does not kill me, makes me stronger." He implies that optimistic people are more resilient and will fare better.

My own experience supports Seligman's view. After I returned from my tour in Vietnam in 1970, I experienced no nightmares, no flashbacks, and no psychological difficulties that I was aware of. It may sound odd, but to this day I've never had a dream about Vietnam. I've wondered about that, because so many veterans were severely disturbed by their experiences. Not that my experiences were tame. I commanded a mobile advisor team during my tour, and I participated in over a hundred combat missions, including night ambushes, airmobile assaults and search and destroy missions. I encountered death on many of those missions. I made it back safely, but the captain who replaced me lost a leg on one of his missions.

My theory was that my West Point education and my Ranger training prepared me for combat so well that I understood what was happening over there. At the end, I was plenty eager to return home; but I wasn't bewildered by what happened, and I didn't agonize over it.

Still, the fact that I didn't suffer PTSD didn't mean that my experiences in combat had a purely positive impact on me. When I landed in San Francisco I was quite tense, and it took me a couple days to relax. I also remember that I was a little more edgy and irritable than usual, as if I was suppressing anger, and I didn't completely calm down for about five years. I think at some level I disagreed with the war, even though I was a professional and did my job as well as I could.

Still, I believe my tour in Vietnam made me stronger. Today, I have amazing composure. Nothing rattles me.

Yes, I was optimistic before I went over, and that may have helped. I've always been optimistic. Also, my training strengthened my composure and perseverance, both of which served me well in Vietnam.

So, my two cents...

1. When understanding resilience, consider more than optimism. Add composure and perseverance. And critical thinking skills. If warriors can make sense of what's going on, they are less likely to panic and feel bewildered by their experience.

2. Even those who benefit from post-traumatic growth may have to work through some emotional difficulties. War really is hell. Nobody who endures it gets a free pass.

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2011. Building Personal Strength .

If You Don't Find the Balance, the Stress Will Kill You

When a deer is startled by a predator, it will bolt and run at high speed until it feels it's safe. Then guess what it does next. It finds a protected area and takes a long nap. It will sleep until it gets its energy back.

This is because when the fight-or-flight response is triggered, the deer's body is shocked by adrenaline and its system is under stress while it copes with danger. This expends a huge amount of energy.

In the human body, this coping mechanism is supported by the sympathetic nervous system. Another system, called the parasympathetic nervous system, takes over when the body is at rest. Under the stress of daily life, the body uses itself up. During rest, the body repairs, regenerates and builds itself back up.

Stress is good because it makes us focus energy to deal with the challenges of life. But unrelieved stress is bad. Without some rest and relaxation, the body's immune system can't do its work. This is why working too hard and too long without relief can make you sick. The immune system gets weak, damage doesn't get repaired and disease has an opportunity to grow in your body.

When Andrew Weil, M.D., said "The human body will heal itself if you give it half a chance," this is what he was talking about. By the way, if you've never read his book, Spontaneous Healing, you should. He's a traditional physician who opened his mind to study alternative medicine, and this is his report.

Years ago, a good friend had a stressful sales job in a big city. There weren't many women in her career field at the time, and she was under constant pressure to produce. She told me that she would sometimes come home late from work so exhausted that she'd get our of the car, go to her back yard and lie on the ground to "decompress."

Even though she lived a healthy lifestyle - she swam, lifted weights and jogged regularly, plus she was a health-food nut - eventually she got breast cancer. There may have been other factors, but she believes the unrelieved stress of her job may have allowed the cancer to get a foothold in her body. She has since recovered and has changed careers.

In 1998 my wife, Kathleen, and I moved from Miami Beach to Vero Beach, Florida. We bought the home from a couple in their 60s who were moving to a residential retirement community.

The house was perfect for us. It was on the market for only a few days when we offered the owners full price. We hired a home inspector and arranged a visit with the owners. As we walked from room to room with the inspector, we learned more about the house. After only 15 minutes, the man came into the bedroom and said, "You've got to leave."

"We'll be gone shortly," I said. "Another 15 minutes ought to do it."

"No, I want you out right now. You've been here long enough, and I want you out. If you're still here five minutes from now, I'll call the police."

This was a surprising turn of events. We needed time to finish our inspection, so we picked up the pace. But sure enough, as we walked out the front door, a patrol car pulled up in front of the house.

Later that week, the owner agreed to let us finish the inspection, and eventually we closed and moved in. When we met our new neighbors across the street, they told us that the couple wasn't well liked. They seemed to have it in for everybody, and they were hard to get along with.

Two weeks later, we learned that the woman had died unexpectedly. A month after that, her husband died.

Anger produces a stress response. If you're angry all the time and never let it go, it can prevent the parasympathetic nervous system from kicking in so the immune system can regenerate and do its work. I believe the two of them were essentially killed by their own anger. Eventually their bodies got so weak they couldn't self-repair and they failed.

Most of the people I talk to are passionate, obsessive, success-oriented high achievers. The smart ones also achieve a balance between work and their personal lives. They take time off. They know how to relax and feel joy. They rest, recuperate and then return to striving fully energized.

If you're like the deer, you'll feel that shock of adrenaline, turn on the energy and take care of business. But I hope you have the wisdom to rest when you're tired. Find a protected area, curl up and let go of all the striving.

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2011. Building Personal Strength .