HHS HealthBeat (November 25, 2010)

Strength under pressure

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

When life gets tough, here’s an idea that might keep you going: Researchers say people who faced adversity can have more resilience, which seems to improve their mental health.

The researchers checked survey data on close to 2,400 people from 2001 to 2004. They found people who had suffered some, but not intense, adversity emerged with better psychological well-being than did people who had life easier.

Mark Seery of the University at Buffalo in New York:

``Just because someone has gone through something difficult does not mean that they are doomed to be forever damaged. They may end up stronger and more resilient in the future, even if it does take some time to get to that point.’’  (11 seconds)

The study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011