By Shreya Agrawal, California Health Journalism Fellow
At Health Journalism 2024 in New York City, a panel titled “How resilience can help us all stay sane during uncertain times” explored how resilience strategies and frameworks can help us stay sane and strong.
Dr. Dennis Charney, who is one of the top researchers in psychiatry and the author of the book “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges,” said the most important thing when trying to become optimistic is having positive people around you who you can look up to.
“When you’re working to be more optimistic, you want mentors and role models in your life that you can emulate,” he said.
Charney described his experience studying prisoners of war in Vietnam, who were held there for six years. When Charney asked them how they managed to stay strong during their ordeal, they said their prior experience in life, especially their training, helped them cope with being in prison.
In terms of facing fears, Charney said, “You do it one step at a time. You don’t face your greatest fears immediately.”
Charney said he has observed this among other officers who have been through a lot of training. He mentioned the book “Make Your Bed” by former Navy Adm. William H. McRaven where the officer describes that the most basic training one needs to start with is making your bed. Charney said that resilience starts with small acts as simple as making your bed the first thing in the morning.
Panel moderator Marlene Harris-Taylor, director of engaged journalism for Ideastream Public Media, asked if we’ve raised a generation of non-resilient young people. Charney said that anyone who wants to become better must challenge themselves, and that if you don’t fail, you’re not trying hard enough. To become great, it is necessary to fail, to learn from failure and challenges, and to put yourself in new situations.
“Don’t let your children have it too easy. Don’t traumatize them, but challenge them,” he said.
Charney also shared his own experience of being shot by a former colleague at Mount Sinai and how he used his own resilience strategies to heal and recover. He said this involved “reimagining” what had happened to him in order to assimilate it.
“It made me a stronger person. I became a role model for my institution,” he said.
He also mentioned that religion has been important for recovery in certain groups, but in other groups, a sense of “moral compass” and “forgiveness” has been able to get people through hard times.
When Harris-Taylor asked how journalists affected by covering tough events can stay resilient, Charney said they should get support from their peers.
“You became a journalist for a reason,” he said. “You can assimilate [your experiences] into who you are as a person.”
Harris-Taylor asked, “What is the prescription for being a resilient person?”There is no single prescription for becoming a resilient person, Charney responded, adding that every person is different in terms of genetics and life experiences. This is why learning from history and role models can be helpful, because people can learn from those experiences and emulate lessons in their own lives.
Charney re-emphasized the importance of role models, friends and social support systems in staying resilient.
“Everybody needs role models in their lives,” he said, “whether or not you have been traumatized.”
Shreya Agrawal is a climate journalist and communicator based in Los Angeles, CA. She was a 2024 AHCJ-California Health Journalism Fellow.
