1. Resilience
Laurel Mellin, PhD
Associate Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF

2. Resilience
• Resilience is the capacity and dynamic process of
adaptively overcoming stress and adversity while
maintaining normal psychological and physical
functioning.
• Facilitated by three evolutions: genetic, cultural and
individual (emotional).
• Brain is reward and stress-driven, so resiliency or selfregulatory success requires neuronal stress circuitry to
effectively process stress and access adaptive rewards.
Vaillant, GE (2008) Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith.

3. Genetic Evolution
• Reptiles evolved into mammals with limbic systems.
• Limbic system favors survival drive for connection.
Huge human neocortex facilitates complex thought.
• Interconnections of neocortex and limbic system =
prosocial thoughts activate limbic reward centers.
• Intense reward activations in limbic regions swamps
stress response.
Homeostatic brain states = eudonic rewards.
Allostatic brain states = hedonic rewards.
Vaillant, GE (2008) Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith.

4. Cultural Evolution
• Mediated by language.
• Effective cultural transmission of that which promotes
survival.
• Faster, more flexible, than genetic evolution.
• Culture evolved to communicate the survival value of
transcending self-interest.
• Improved communications facilitated larger and more
complex social organizations essential for survival.
Vaillant, GE (2008) Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith.

5. Personal Evolution
• 70% transmission from parent to child of selfregulatory circuits.
• Intergenerational transmission of trauma.
• Last trimester of pregnancy through first 3
years, passive pruning until late 20s.
• Emotional plasticity or “targeted pruning”
• Epigeneteic effects may include reversible genetic
effects in response to experience.
Vaillant, GE (2008) Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith.

6. Emotional Evolution
Stage 1. Existence
I do exist.
Stage 2. Essence
I am not bad.
Stage 3. Power
I do have power.
Stage 4. Purpose
I can do good.
Stage 5. Love
I can love.
Stage 6. Desire
I am worthy.
Stage 7. Wisdom
I am joy.

7. Emotional Brain Medicine
• All organisms have survival drives.
• Emotional memory evolved to improve survival.
• Emotional memories can be adaptive or maladaptive.
• Adaptive plasticity of emotional memories improves
health and well-being.