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Why You're Not As Broken As You Believe, Sonic AI
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Why You're Not As Broken As You Believe
Hidden Brain
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May 1, 2026
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19:11
Why You're Not As Broken As You Believe
From
Hidden Brain
Shankar Vedantam
(host)
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Executive Summary
Scientific research, primarily from psychologist George Bonanno, demonstrates that resilience is the most common human response to trauma and loss, with only a small minority (at most 10%) experiencing chronic, long-term psychological damage.
Popular cultural models of grief, such as Elizabeth Kübler-Ross's five stages, are not supported by evidence and create a harmful, prescriptive script that can cause resilient individuals to question their normal reactions.
Overestimating human fragility and believing in unscientific concepts like "unprocessed grief" leads to counterproductive interventions, such as trigger warnings, which research shows are ineffective or may even increase anxiety.
True resilience is characterized by emotional flexibility—the ability to hold both grief and joy simultaneously—and expressions of positive emotion during bereavement are correlated with better long-term outcomes.
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Processed May 4, 2026
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