(CNN) -- The number of young men and women from the U.S. Army who committed suicide last month was so devastatingly high that it set a dismal new record.
About two-thirds of the 32 dead were active-duty soldiers; the rest were reservists. And like all riptides of tragedy, news of the deaths of bright young people with lives of promise stretched out before them has thrown many off balance.
"People think of us in the Army as these super-beings in uniform. But they forget that we are a direct reflection of American society," said Maj. Juanita Chang. "And everything you have going on in society -- good and bad -- you are going to have those in the Army, too. Like everyone else, we are black and brown and white. We are worried about the economy, politics and jobs crisis. And sometimes we have problems coping, like everyone else.
"People forget that, I think, but it's important to remember that we live in stressful times."
The human response to extreme stress and adversity is bell-shaped, according to Dr. Marty Seligman, professor of psychology and director of the Positive Psychology Center at University of Pennsylvania.
By Amanda Enayati
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/08/17/resilience.after.trauma/index.html?eref=rss_latest
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