You are a hero

And a legendary one at that.

I read a great article in Scientific American this weekend about how scientific studies show we can improve our lives by casting ourselves as the heroes in our own stories. I wrote about this when hardly anyone was reading my stuff, so it felt like a validation to see a version of this technique actually proven to help. Let me explain.

The hero's journey, a narrative structure found in myths and modern stories alike, isn't just for fictional characters. Recent research suggests that applying this framework to our own lives can significantly enhance our sense of meaning and well-being.

This study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that people who view their lives through the lens of the hero's journey report higher levels of life satisfaction and lower depression. Researchers simplified the traditional hero's journey into seven key elements: a protagonist, a shift in circumstances, a quest, allies, a challenge, personal transformation, and a resulting legacy.

Building upon these findings, the team developed a "restorying" intervention, encouraging participants to reframe their life experiences using the hero's journey template. This process involved identifying the seven elements in one's life and weaving them into a coherent narrative. The results were impressive: participants reported increased feelings of meaningfulness, greater well-being, and improved resilience when facing personal challenges.

In terms of how this might apply to our experiences of health and serious medical problems, I think the structure of the heroic journey might give us strength and resilience, too. When I personally pick up a new diagnosis or medical problem, my first reaction has often been disappointment and dread. And that’s fine as a reaction, but not as an enduring response.

Here’s how the heroic journey might play out in our medical lives. We receive a challenging and disappointing diagnosis (we are the protagonist). After taking some justified time to feel sorry for ourselves, we might resolve to accept the problem and get up from the floor where we’ve been knocked down (a shift). We develop plans that involve educating ourselves, lining up some doctors and professionals, and resolving to accept the challenge, win lose or draw (a quest). If we are fortunate we get support from our family and friends (allies), overcome self-doubt and despair after initial failures or disappointments (a challenge), and grow into an indomitable if not invincible warrior in the face of health adversity (a transformation). Ultimately we all lose the final battle, but there is much inspiration to give to others, much personal growth to find in ourselves, and perhaps meaningful community to be joined with others who similarly suffer and struggle (legacies).

Scientific American used this illustration to show the parallels between heroic archetype and modern warrior:

The third post I ever wrote here on Examined, all the way back in September 2021 (it only received 2 likes, because I had an audience of like 50 people then!) was about a similar subject as the heroic journey - the family narrative. I argued that family narratives can be powerful tools for grounding our children in a sense of self and broader connection - but can also be constructively applied to our medical realms. Here’s a quote:

Children with the most self-confidence often possess an inter-generational sense of self. They build this identity in part by listening to the stories of those who came before them, the hardships overcome, the struggles and pains endured. When they are confronted with life’s inevitable plot twists, they can summon other family member’s stories, wielding them to write their own narratives of endurance and even resilience in the face of sorrow.

In the realm of health, can we resolve to create and share stories that build an adaptive foundation for understanding and coping with adversity? Can we achieve a better sense of well being if we see our darker medical issues illuminated by the perseverance of those who came before us? We cannot control much of what happens to us, and good health is as much determined by chance as it is by our own behaviors. But in my practice, and in my own life, I have seen family ailments that are as much dysfunctional patterns of symptom interpretation and legacies of reactive dread learned from the time we were children as they are genetically determined.

It’s a decent post if you want some vintage Examined reading.

Heroic journeys, family narratives, personal health arcs - the encouraging news is that anyone can apply these structures to their own lives. By recognizing ourselves as protagonists, embracing new experiences, setting challenging goals, nurturing supportive relationships, and reflecting on personal growth, we can conjure and believe in more compelling and empowering stories about the stuff we are really made of. Everyday heroism. Illnesses be damned.

While we may not save the galaxy on a grand scale like Obi Wan Kenobi, viewing our lives as a hero's journey can help us find deeper meaning and overcome adversity more effectively and constructively.

In essence, we have always been the heroes of our own life stories.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ I truly believe that each person filtering through my examining room is a kind of warrior poet, risen from the seeming impossibility of being anything to sustain a little light in this chaotic and wildly indifferent cosmos.

May the heroic arc be with you.