[taeric]

True that standards of living have gone up. I'm... not clear where you were going with this, though?

You are using the word "cope" in a way that implies people did not grow after their trauma in the past. I do think I've been sloppy and said grown from trauma a few times. I meant that to be a time marker, not a cause of growth.

Do I think some people did not manage healthy growth after some events? Absolutely! But I also think many people did find ways to continue to grow.

[array_key_first]

I think, in the past, yes - most people did not grow, they just coped. They merely distracted themselves with working 12 hour days, drinking their lives away, and beating their wife and children.

Think about it this way - how many passion projects did people have back then? When they weren't working, what were they doing?