From my friend Mike in Hawaii:
Stress and our reactions to it can be very deep and long term. If anything we are better at recognizing it and treating it more effectively than previous era's.
But one can not really gage the level of stress of the past generations, as they are gone and their stories were generally ones of quite endurance. If anything more recent generations have been more sheltered than those of the past simply because increasingly better life styles have allowed parents to support their offspring for longer periods if not more effectively.
After WWII there were hundreds of thousands of men and women who fought in the wars, or saw their families decimated. Societal Levels of alcohol consumption were very high, smoking, poor diets, and aberrant behavior were common. But most everyone had multiple family members and neighbors who were suffering in bizarre ways. The mental hospitals were crowded with those who could not function, or just need a place to retreat. The children of that generation inherited many of bad coping methodologies unknowingly. The subsequent death toll from WWII due to mental illness and co-morbidities has never really been considered. I believe much the same can be said of WWI, and the Civil War. People just suffered, endured and died earlier as a result.
It's been fifty years since the Vietnam War. Men and women in their seventies are still whining about the past. Many have true problems, many more have just turned into freeloaders pointing to their service as the reason for their 'trauma'. If we listen there will always be complaints. Earlier generations had codes of action and honor that prohibited them from being such snivelers. They died more quietly as a result, though its highly likely they endured more trauma than we have seen in quite some time.
Human conflicts, trauma, mental problems, resulting psychosis, and shortened life, are a part of human existence. We are no different from our forefathers, and quite frankly, can not expect our future generations to fare much better in terms of adjusting to human societies and its inhumane treatment of its members. That is who we are. The cycles of human existence are fairly predictable, but it seems, quite unavoidable nonetheless.
AI
