What is Posttraumatic Growth?

Posttraumatic growth refers to the positive changes that can occur within an individual after significant adversity. We know that trauma survivors can work through what has happened to them and create meaning from it. The study of how we reach posttraumatic growth is in it’s infancy. Despite this, we are beginning to create a picture of the amazing coping that individuals can demonstrate in the face of traumatic experiences.

Many Types of Trauma Are Associated with Posttraumatic Growth

Studies from the last 20 years report that many individuals who experience medical illnesses, accidents, sexual assault, combat, and natural disasters are eventually able to adapt positively (Joseph & Linley, 2006). There are initial data that suggests that using therapy to focus on future growth, in the midst of the pain of trauma treatment, can lead to less sadness and worry. Feeling better can improve the likelihood that individuals feel capable to work through their pain. That means they are more likely to remain in therapy to continue their treatment until they reach the growth they have been seeking.

Meaningful Life Changes Can Occur

1. Warmer, More Intimate Relationships

Many people who experience trauma feel ashamed and tend to isolate themselves. When survivors push themselves to ask for help from others they often find support. Research has shown that trauma survivors who achieved posttraumatic growth reported strengthened relationships with important people in their lives (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). These trauma survivors prioritized their relationships. Many trauma survivors use therapy to learn strategies for how to reach out to the loved ones in their lives. This may include practicing how to open up difficult conversations about loss. It may involve learning how to demonstrate warmth, caring, and empathy in loving relationships. Or it could include becoming more assertive about speaking up during conversations with loved ones that were hurtful. Learning how to use social skills like these can help strengthen relationships and reduce feelings of loneliness.

2. Greater Appreciation for Life

Individuals who reached posttraumatic growth experienced changes in their outlook on life. Examples of these positive adaptations included having a deeper appreciation of being alive. These survivors began to take advantage of every moment in their lives. They tried not to take small things in their lives for granted. Additionally, these survivors clarified their priorities so that they only focused on important relationships. This allowed them to appreciate moments that they might have previously missed. After significant processing of the trauma, they reported feeling “lucky” and experiencing “new joy.”

3. Increased Sense of Personal Strengths

Some individuals who experience growth in the face of crisis reported a newfound understanding of their inner strength that they didn’t know existed before. They believed in themselves to handle difficult situations in a way they had not done before. One way they reported thinking about this change was, “what did not kill me, makes me stronger.” Watching their own strength emerge, changed how they saw themselves and protected them against future stress. For those individuals who were able to work through their feelings about the trauma they endured, they were forever changed and better able to cope with what life threw at them. One way to think about this is that processing traumatic experiences and making meaning of them can inoculate you from future stressful events.

4. Recognition of New Possibilities for Life

Posttraumatic growth was described by some survivors as presenting new possibilities to them in life. Some chose careers that allowed them to educate others about a cause. An example of this would be joining a suicide prevention organization if they had lost a loved one to suicide. Alternatively, individuals coped by entering a career path related to the trauma experienced, such as becoming an oncology nurse after losing a child to cancer. It seems that trauma survivors wanted to give back in a tangible way to offer comfort to others experiencing a similar trauma.

5. Spiritual or Existential Development

Individuals also experienced significant spiritual changes in the wake of trauma. This makes sense because traumatic experiences cause us to question our assumptions about the how the world works. It can make us question our beliefs about control. For some individuals with a trauma history, this included a deepening of their faith. Many trauma survivors reported that if they did not have their faith, they would not have survived their experiences. They would have turned to self-harm or addiction. Or they experienced a related situation in which their religious beliefs helped them overcome self-destructive behaviors like eating issues or addiction that they had previously been using to cope.

Alternatively, many individuals who identified as atheistic wrestled deeply with existential questions. Clients I have worked with have asked questions like, “Why did this happen to me? How could this happen? Why are people like this?” Although there are no satisfying answers to these specific questions, asking these questions can be an important part of processing traumatic experiences. Questioning our beliefs about how the world works and how people act can help us modify these questions. The survivor can then become more proactive about how they make changes in their lives. With coaching they can eventually ask, “What can I do with my life now? What can I do to help myself move on?”

Summary

There is great hope in knowing that no matter what the traumatic events are that individuals experience, they still have the potential for posttraumatic growth. These changes can be promoted in therapy, a place in which meaningful change is supported, encouraged, and celebrated. Although recovery after trauma is difficult, and at times painful, it can also highlight the strength that human beings can achieve.

It appears that by questioning one’s beliefs about the world after trauma, the individual can experience a deepening of faith in religion, deepened relationships with others, and a deeper relationship with themselves. And it is this renewed belief in the self as a powerful force to shape the future, that trauma survivors need to start taking control over their lives again. Finding one’s inner strengths can help protect trauma survivors against future stresses and embolden them to thrive. To find out more about whether posttraumatic growth is possible for you, click here. 

References:

Joseph, S., & Linely, P. A. (2006). Growth following adversity: Theoretical perspectives and implications for clinical practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 1041-1053.

Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1-18.