Locusts, plagues and other disasters: why we’re made to survive adversity
We have all become a bit obsessed with trauma, and that difficult experiences in childhood, or later, irrevocably damage us. Yet, if we look to other animals and across human history, it’s clear that we are made to withstand all sorts of terrible things, including accidents, abuse and swarms of locusts. How do we overcome adversity? What helps? Who helps? Why are responsibility in childhood and risk-taking in adolescence important? In the midst of a dark January, as we overcome excesses of the festive period, this talk will take us into the new year thinking about surviving and thriving.
223nd Lecture Series Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow
Date: Wednesday 22 January 2025
Time: 19:30 - 21:00
Venue: Charles Wilson Building, Lecture Theatre 201
Category: Public lectures
Speaker: Professor Helen Minnis
We have all become a bit obsessed with trauma, and that difficult experiences in childhood, or later, irrevocably damage us. Yet, if we look to other animals and across human history, it’s clear that we are made to withstand all sorts of terrible things, including accidents, abuse and swarms of locusts.
How do we overcome adversity? What helps? Who helps? Why are responsibility in childhood and risk-taking in adolescence important? In the midst of a dark January, as we overcome excesses of the festive period, this talk will take us into the new year thinking about surviving and thriving.
Helen Minnis is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow. She has spent most of her career investigating the mental health problems surrounding abuse and neglect. Now, working in partnership with people who have experienced trauma in early life, she is a lot about resilience.