Lizards and Leaders

In the course of delivering the Challenge of Change Resilience programme, participants will from time to time suggest that rumination must have a purpose, otherwise it wouldn't have evolved. Evolutionary oversimplifications of this kind are widespread and persistent: as early as 1966 Robert Ardrey claimed in The Territorial Imperative that a human being is 'as much a territorial animal as is a mockingbird singing in the clear California night'.  The basis for his argument was that humans own property, but let's dispense with these sorts of glib notions by looking at the evidence. 

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Smash, Grab and Burble

We know that expressing emotion is a vital part of resolving experiences and building resilience.  Those people who soldier on, denying or ignoring their emotions will have a much tougher time dealing with life's rapids.  American Vietnam veterans returned, defeated, to the USA after an unpopular war and felt unable to talk about their experiences. Many took years to re-integrate back into their work and personal lives, some never did, and some suffered flashbacks years later.  In a more everyday context, you may know people who when asked why they are angry, snap back through clenched jaws 'I'm not angry!'  Or the person who tells you in a high pitched voice that they aren't stressed. 

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