The article written by Karen Brown seeks to shed some light on this question and challenges us in our thinking about resilience & trauma.

Here's an excerpt form the article and you can read the entire article by clicking here.

One theory-put forth by Dr. Bruce McEwen at Rockefeller University in New York-refers to "allostatic load," or the level of stress that puts the body off balance physiologically. McEwen suggests that living in great stress or fear while the brain is still developing leads to an overproduction of the stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, and that in turn can overwhelm the stress response system and promote later disease.

Another school of thought suggests some hardship may, in fact, shore up resilience later in life. Michael Rutter thinks about this theory in terms of infection, where early exposure to a germ can inoculate you later on. "There have been people who have seen it as the goal of removing from children all stresses, challenges, and adversity," Rutter says. "And I think that's a totally wrong headed notion."