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Sep 27, 2023Liked by Michael Woudenberg

There is a great book on post traumatic stress studies called a upside which talks about the fact that in most cases PTSD can actually bring the greatest amount of growth, but they also mentioned the conditions which makes that so. Point being is that trauma alone is not sufficient, but what you do with it throughout your life

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Great point and great recommendation. I've added it to my list!

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Sep 5, 2023Liked by Michael Woudenberg

I used to worry so much about unattended children when they were around me. It didn't matter what the circumstances were, but I resented parents who just sort of wandered off while I was staring at their child, making sure they didn't put a paperclip in an electrical socket or wander into traffic or whatever.

I understand why parents are like this MUCH better now.

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It's weird how it ebbs and flows. Gen X ran around with almost zero oversight. Gen Z had helicopter parents. Raising littles right now our biggest fear isn't what trouble they'll get into but what trouble we'll get into when other parents don't agree with the freedom we allow them to learn.

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Really enjoyed this. My wife is a psychologist. It's always amusing when she tells me someone was being too sensitive when describing a "traumatic" event. She's seen real trauma, and many don't hit the mark. Last week, a 20-something said their mental health was damaged when their boss told them to complete a task. This type of normal occurrence in a professional environment can even be seen as harmful. This is the society we live in.

The scope creep of trauma has contributed to the widespread victimhood of people in the West. Everyone feels oppressed by someone or something. Being resilient and healthy in mind and body feels like a state only achievable through therapy or drugs.

Those tools are necessary in some cases. But most would do well to calm down, breath, and get some perspective on their circumstances. The fastest way I know to heal from any form of trauma.

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I'd contend that believing "This type of normal occurrence in a professional environment can even be seen as harmful." is actually what is harming these people. For all they talk about trauma, the real trauma is in their inability to deal with it.

It is the society we live in and a lot of people, like the dime-a-dozen therapists, make money off of that. (New book by Abigail Shrier titled Bad Therapy talks about this.) Even worse, the pharmacuticals who sell expensive drugs to the 'worried well. (Another great book titled Saving Normal talks about this)

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Oct 19, 2023Liked by Michael Woudenberg

Such a great insight - and glad my figure describing antifragility was inspiring!

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I've been pushing anti fragility for years now. Few people are willing to design that way

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Sep 11, 2023Liked by Michael Woudenberg

Thank you! I have been saying many of these things for years... mostly met with stares of pity or disbelief or anger that I could be so nonchalant about challenges (whether those were my own or broader societal challenges).

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Oct 4·edited Oct 4Liked by Michael Woudenberg

My cognitive dissonance brain/soul speaking here, great chart btw. So this is why God allows bad things to happen to good or innocent beings?

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I've heard a lot of explainations for that paradox but there's a lot of truth in what you just said.

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