How trauma could lead to a longer life

New research suggests the emergence of a phenomenon known as post-traumatic growth

Trauma may mean living longer
(Image credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Perhaps no medical condition has quite defined the 9/11 era as post-traumatic stress disorder, which shot to national prominence as shell-shocked veterans began returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan. PTSD has seeped into the cultural consciousness, appearing in such fare as Homeland, in which trauma sparks the making of a terrorist, and The Hurt Locker, which features a soldier hooked to the rush that trauma can induce.

Trauma is seen, at best, as something to get through; at worst, it is irreparably damaging, the grim real-world evidence of which can be found in the rising suicide rates of veterans.

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Monica Nickelsburg is a digital producer for TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for Transient Pictures, The Daily Beast, NBC, and Forbes. Follow her @mnickelsburg.