#195 - Freedom, PTSD, war, and life through an evolutionary lens | Sebastian Junger

Feb 14, 2022 2h 57m 16 insights

<a href="https://peterattiamd.com/sebastianjunger/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=220214-pod-sebastianjunger&utm_content=220214-pod-sebastianjunger-podfeed"> View the Show Notes Page for This Episode</a> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=220214-pod-sebastianjunger&utm_content=220214-pod-sebastianjunger-podfeed"> Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content</a> Episode Description: Sebastian Junger is an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker, and New York Times best-selling author. In this wide-ranging discussion, Sebastian shares stories from his time as a war reporter and how it shaped his understanding of the psychological effects of combat, including the sacred bond of soldiers, the forces that unify a tribe, and the psychological mechanisms that protect humans from painful experiences. He draws upon his personal struggle with PTSD as he discusses trauma as an all-too-common consequence of war and the importance of community in the healing process. He explains his interest in viewing human behavior through an evolutionary lens, including how it influences his parenting style, and he voices concerns over society's continuous shift away from our evolutionary roots. Sebastian also tells the story of his near-death experience and his new perspective on the possibility of an afterlife. Additionally, Sebastian shares his thoughts on the mental health implications of current events, such as the pandemic and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and contemplates what it really means to be "free" in modern society. We discuss: <ul class="ul1"> <li class="li2">Sebastian's upbringing and early lessons about the evil of fascism [3:20];</li> <li class="li2">Sebastian's search for a career, interest in writing, and what he loved about tree removal [11:30];</li> <li class="li2">How Sebastian became a great writer [19:30];</li> <li class="li2">Sebastian's experience with his Achilles injuries [25:30];</li> <li class="li2">Work as a war reporter and his experience in combat in Afghanistan [28:00];</li> <li class="li2">Psychological effects of war and Sebastian's own experience with PTSD [36:30];</li> <li class="li2">The sacred bond of soldiers and what Sebastian learned from his time with troops in Afghanistan [48:30];</li> <li class="li2">An evolutionary perspective on the forces that unify and bind tribes [1:00:00];</li> <li class="li2">Hunter-gatherer societies, dealing with loss, and the ancestral connection to the spiritual realm [1:08:30];</li> <li class="li2">Psychological mechanisms that protect humans from painful experiences and the power in giving thanks [1:13:15];</li> <li class="li2">How parenting has changed Sebastian, and the incredible pain of losing a child [1:21:15];</li> <li class="li2">PTSD and the influence of community on healing [1:32:15];</li> <li class="li2">Isolation of modern society and the debate over young kids sleeping in bed with their parents [1:37:45];</li> <li class="li2">Why Sebastian doesn't own a smartphone [1:43:30];</li> <li class="li2">Parenting through an evolutionary lens [1:50:00];</li> <li class="li2">Sebastian's near-death experience and new perspective on the possibility of an afterlife [1:54:00];</li> <li class="li2">Sebastian's experience with depression and anxiety [2:12:00];</li> <li class="li2">The pandemic's impact on mental health [2:16:45];</li> <li class="li2">Sebastian's thoughts on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan [2:22:00];</li> <li class="li2">Sebastian's latest book—Freedom, and knowing when to quit [2:27:00];</li> <li class="li2">Defining freedom in modern society [2:44:30];</li> <li class="li2">More.</li> </ul> <a href="https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter/?utm_source=podcast-feed&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=220214-pod-sebastianjunger&utm_content=220214-pod-sebastianjunger-podfeed"> Sign Up to Receive Peter's Weekly Newsletter</a> Connect With Peter on <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peterattiamd/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/peterattiamd/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8kGsMa0LygSX9nkBcBH1Sg">YouTube</a>

Episode Page ↗

Actionable Insights

1. Cultivate Inner Freedom Through Self-Reflection

Engage in honest conversations with yourself about who you truly are and what you’re doing, as this self-examination is the path to genuine freedom, irrespective of external conditions.

2. Combat Depression by Being Needed

Seek opportunities to feel needed and contribute to a group, as this sense of necessity can significantly improve your psychological state and serve as an antidote to depression.

Foster deep social connections and community involvement to buffer against psychological struggles like PTSD, recognizing that humans are evolutionarily designed to process trauma communally.

4. Trust Instincts to Know When to Quit

Cultivate awareness of your instinctive feelings to discern when relationships, projects, or situations are truly over, trusting these inner signals over external pressures or perceived obligations.

Deliberately limit smartphone and social media use to maintain personal freedom and prevent addiction, understanding that these technologies are designed to elicit compulsive engagement and monetize addiction.

6. Understand Child Behavior Evolutionarily

Approach child behaviors and developmental stages, such as temper tantrums or fear of sleeping alone, through an evolutionary lens rather than pathologizing them, fostering patience and supporting healthy development.

7. Consider Co-Sleeping for Child Safety

Consider co-sleeping with infants and young children, as their evolutionary wiring dictates that proximity to adults provides safety and reduces anxiety, leading to deeper sleep.

8. Acknowledge Environmental Impact with Gratitude

Practice acknowledging the harm caused to the earth for human sustenance and express gratitude, which can reconcile cognitive dissonance and promote psychological well-being regardless of environmental actions.

9. Process Moral Burden of Taking Life

When taking a life, such as in hunting or war, protect yourself psychologically by according respect and expressing gratitude to the being, incorporating a ritual process to honor the death.

10. Understand Meat Source for Ethical Eating

If you choose to eat meat, make an effort to understand what it’s like to take the life of the animal, as this direct connection can profoundly change your eating habits and foster respect.

11. Instill Nomadic Qualities for Dignity

Learn from the egalitarianism, mobility, and autonomy of nomadic societies, and seek ways to instill these qualities into modern life to enhance human dignity and self-governance.

12. Fulfill Civic Duty, Protest Immoral Wars

Understand and fulfill your civic duty to your country, which includes being willing to serve, but also to protest and even face imprisonment if a war is deemed immoral and unnecessary.

13. Limit Child Screen Time for Self-Entertainment

Provide children with a screen-free existence, especially during activities like long drives, to encourage them to cope with boredom by entertaining themselves and fostering imagination.

14. Optimize Writing for Rhythm, Efficiency, Originality

Improve writing by focusing on rhythm, efficiency (parring down prose), and originality (avoiding clichés), rigorously eliminating formulaic language to create compelling narratives.

15. Confine Email to Prevent Overwhelm

Recognize email as a potentially endless task that generates more work the more you do it; confine email engagement to specific times and locations to prevent it from invading personal time and energy.

16. Take Full Agency in High-Risk Work

In high-risk occupations like tree work, take full agency over outcomes by meticulously understanding immutable physical laws and eliminating personal carelessness or stupidity, as accidents are often a result of human error.