Seeking and loss in the ancestral genesis of resilience, depression, and addiction

In the context of basic mammalian adaptation, resilience refers to the intrinsically endowed capacities of an organism to manage challenges in a life-preserving manner. For humans it is the ability to maintain composure and equanimity along with creative and productive life problem solving in the face of repeated vicissitudes. Resilience refers to basic flexible lifepreserving behavior patterns that are promoted by mammalian affective systems of the brain and the organism’s interaction with the environment. Fundamental brain emotional systems consisting of primary-process emotions mediate rewarding and punishing states (Panksepp, 1998, 2005; Panksepp & Biven, 2012). © 2014 Taylor & Francis.