The Unthinkable: Who survives when disaster strikes - and why

by Amanda Ripley

Laughter—or silence—is a classic manifestation of denial, as is delay.

Today, most people who study decision making agree that human beings are not rational.

Dread = Uncontrollability + Unfamiliarity + Imaginability + Suffering + Scale of Destruction + Unfairness

“I tell people that if it’s in the news, don’t worry about it. The very definition of ‘news’ is ‘something that hardly ever happens,’ ” writes security expert Bruce Schneier. “It’s when something isn’t in the news, when it’s so common that it’s no longer news—car crashes, domestic violence—that you should start worrying.”

The best way to negotiate stress is through repeated, realistic training.

Resilience is a precious skill. People who have it tend to also have three underlying advantages: a belief that they can influence life events; a tendency to find meaningful purpose in life’s turmoil; and a conviction that they can learn from both positive and negative experiences.

Resilient people aren’t necessarily yoga-practicing Buddhists. One thing that they have in abundance is confidence.