The scale of devastation wrought by the deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena has been unimaginable. Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out, homes reduced to smoldering ruins, and acres of hillside consumed by relentless flames. The devastation is staggering, with the loss of life and property leaving a trail of despair.
So as the winds die down and firefighters contain the blaze, how do we even begin to process this disaster? Will life ever return to normal?
The human capacity to withstand traumatic events is a question psychologist and author George Bonanno has been studying for over 25 years. In his book The End of Trauma; How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD, Bonanno says that humans are remarkably flexible and adaptable and that most people are resilient — recovering without lasting effects that challenge traditional views on PTSD and trauma recovery:
“We have a very flexible, adaptive brain. We're able to adapt in the moment, we're able to modify, and change, and sort of roll with the punches. That's a good human ability. So I think this is why most people are resilient, not because most people have this sort of innate resilience quality, but because we have this flexibility. [We have] this adaptability.”
The End of Trauma; How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD by George Bonanno.
George Bonanno, pictured here, says that most people will not have lasting impacts from trauma: “Despite how bad they might feel at the moment. This is basically because, as the research is now shown over and over, we are, as a species, very resilient.” Photo courtesy of George Bonanno.
What happens when we lose the one place that grounds us, our home? And why does a home mean so much more than just a physical structure that houses us? Margot Kushel, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says a home is an integral part to our emotional well-being. Kushel is director of the UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.
“[A home] is the place where you can take a deep breath, where your heart rate goes down, where you have that psychological safety, Kushel tells us. “You have that physical safety, hopefully, that acceptance for who you are, and you can just be you. And there are very few other places where that is true.”
Margot Kushel. Photo courtesy of University of California, San Francisco.
The sight of people sifting through the remains of what once was their home has been nothing short of heartbreaking. Homeowners having lost everything are searching for even the smallest item or possession that may have survived the inferno. As Carolyn Korsmeyer, research professor of philosophy at the University at Buffalo and author of Things: In Touch with the Past says, personal possessions and family heirlooms are far more than just mere belongings. In many ways, they represent our legacy. Objects hold memories that connect us to our past. “[They] last longer than human life,” Korsmeyer shares, “and so we can have them for decades, and anticipate that they will be there in the future for others to hold and marvel at.”
Carolyn Korsmeyer says: “When you lose something like an heirloom, part of the heartbreak is not being able to leave it for others. For your descendants, your children, your grandchildren, even friends.” Photo courtesy of Carolyn Korsmeyer.