> It is basically indisputable that we are exposed to less trauma than people in the past. To a laughable degree.
And standards of living and life expediencies have gone up and to the right.
That 100 years ago people managed to cope with the traumatics of daily life doesn't translate to their coping being healthy or their lives being better (consider the massive drinking culture of the mid 1800s that ultimately led to prohibition)
True that standards of living have gone up. I'm... not clear where you were going with this, though?
You are using the word "cope" in a way that implies people did not grow after their trauma in the past. I do think I've been sloppy and said grown from trauma a few times. I meant that to be a time marker, not a cause of growth.
Do I think some people did not manage healthy growth after some events? Absolutely! But I also think many people did find ways to continue to grow.
I think, in the past, yes - most people did not grow, they just coped. They merely distracted themselves with working 12 hour days, drinking their lives away, and beating their wife and children.
Think about it this way - how many passion projects did people have back then? When they weren't working, what were they doing?
And standards of living and life expediencies have gone up and to the right.
That 100 years ago people managed to cope with the traumatics of daily life doesn't translate to their coping being healthy or their lives being better (consider the massive drinking culture of the mid 1800s that ultimately led to prohibition)