Professor George Bonanno, world-renowned trauma expert, challenges the cultural understanding of trauma. Topics include repressing memories, emotional trauma causing physical symptoms, coping mechanisms for breakups, resiliency, post-traumatic growth, addressing controversy, PTSD, and fixing modern psychology.

In this episode, I talk to George Bonanno about trauma and resiliency. We start off by discussing what people get wrong about trauma and how this led to the invention of the PTSD diagnosis. George defines what resilience is, how it’s different from growth, and its paradoxical correlation to individual differences. Finally, he elaborates on how the flexibility mindset and sequence help us get through personal traumatic events or global tragedies like 9/11 or the COVID-19 pandemic. Bio Dr. George Bonanno is a professor of psychology, chair of the department of counseling in clinical psychology, and director of the Loss, Trauma, and Emotion Lab at Teachers College Columbia University. He’s the author of The Other Side of Sadness and The End of Trauma. Website: www.tc.columbia.edu/LTElab/ Twitter: @giorgiobee Topics 00:01:41 Jerome L. Singer’s influence on George 00:05:42 Society’s skewed view of trauma 00:08:15 Explaining the PTSD diagnosis 00:10:38 People are more resilient than you think 00:14:23 Resilience VS growth 00:19:50 The resilience paradox 00:24:44 The flexibility mindset 00:29:58 The flexibility sequence 00:34:50 How to be more flexible 00:38:11 Goal-directed self-talk 00:47:50 The resilience blind spot 00:50:06 What 9/11 teaches us about resilience 00:53:10 We’ll overcome the COVID-19 pandemic  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Discover how Dr. George Bonanno delves into misconceptions of resilience, post-9/11 trauma research, and the pivotal role of control in trauma and flow. Uncover the secrets to post-traumatic growth, the importance of flexibility, and the future of resilience research. Explore the trainable nature of resilience, the evolution of trauma understanding, and the intersection of flow, cognitive control, and trauma. Learn about strategies for embracing flexibility, navigating career advice, and real-time research in resilience.

George Bonanno, an expert in trauma and resilience, discusses the misconceptions about trauma and the invention of the PTSD diagnosis. He defines resilience and its correlation to individual differences. George explores the flexibility mindset and sequence for navigating personal traumatic events and global tragedies like 9/11 or the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s no shortage of tools in the resilience toolkit, and yet resilience remains something of a mystery. We still don’t fully understand why some people respond to challenging situations with resilience, or exactly how to prepare for hardship. In his new book, The End of Trauma, resilience researcher George Bonanno, PhD, argues that flexibility is the missing piece. On Road to Resilience, Dr. Bonanno explains how an adaptive response allows us to use the resilience toolkit to maximum effect.George Bonanno, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University.Links:Dr. Bonanno’s official bioThe End of TraumaMount Sinai Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal GrowthThe Office of Well-Being and Resilience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiRoad to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma, to building resilient families and communities, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit. Powered by the Mount Sinai Health System.Get Road to Resilience in your inboxListen and subscribe to Road to Resilience on:Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/2Nve2KtSpotify https://spoti.fi/2UbuTVYGoogle Podcasts http://bit.ly/3aWL5AgStitcher http://bit.ly/2UarLcQPocket Casts Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/clinical-trials to see if you're eligible to enroll in a clinical trial with the Mount Sinai Health System.Check out more episodes of Road to Resilience —as well as guest pictures, transcripts, and more— on the Mount Sinai website.Road to Resilience brings you stories and insights to help you thrive in a challenging world. From fighting burnout and trauma to building resilient families, we explore what’s possible when science meets the human spirit.