Post-Traumatic Growth

By Kim Barthel

Looking through a trauma lens, there is always a myriad of compounding stressors and traumatic events going on throughout the world. To some, life’s circumstances can appear unrelenting and even hopeless. For many whose intense stressors continue to be part of their current life, understandably, the idea of post-traumatic growth may seem very far off in the distance. At the same time, it is possible to acknowledge and then move outside of the feeling of overwhelm in a healthy way. Into this New Year, my intention is to remember that with each aspect of suffering from trauma we have an opportunity to shift toward resilience, stability, even conscious growth.

Rarely do we connect to the idea that our worst traumas and life stressors have within them a potential to guide us towards greater authenticity. As a therapist witnessing the personal stories of both human suffering and human resilience over many years, I am continually inspired by what the human spirit can endure. I am further awed by the conscious evolution that some people can achieve through connecting with, internalizing and transforming their adversity.

Following a traumatic event or situation, most people experience a range of challenges. They often have nightmares and trouble sleeping. They can typically be plagued by images - reliving the hardest parts over and over. They can become stuck in high alert, vigilance or aggression. Anxiety and depression can prevail. This group of symptoms is typically referred to as post- traumatic stress disorder.

But trauma doesn’t always result in this negative trajectory. Jim Rendon, the author of Upside: The New Science of Post-Traumatic Growth asserts that, “Trauma survivors, who are often pushed by a brush with their own mortality, by the depth of their hardship or the suffering of others, can find more meaningful and fulfilling ways of understanding who they are and how they want to live.” 

In the mid-90’s, Richard Tedeschi and his colleagues coined the term “Posttraumatic Growth”. In their recent book by this name, they define the concept as “positive psychological changes experienced as a result of the struggle with traumatic or highly challenging life circumstances.” The authors differentiate that posttraumatic growth describes the positive changes in people after an event rather than their responses during a traumatic event. These changes are defined as long-term alterations in mindset and behaviour that come about after careful reflection. The impact of the events is so profound that the person is prohibited from returning to a way of being that existed before the traumatic time. New ways of thinking, feeling, and engaging inevitably arise from this impact. 

In appreciating this transformative way of being, there is a need for careful and clear distinction between the concepts of resilience, which is a process of adapting in the face of adversity and a return to one’s baseline state of being when the stressor is removed, and post-traumatic growth. On the surface, the behavioural presentations can appear similar, however inwardly, resilience and post-traumatic growth are different states of being. Post-traumatic growth involves a “reorganization” of perspectives, beliefs, and actions. Although one’s bandwidth of resilience can influence the potential for post-traumatic growth, resilience alone does not always result in growth or transformation.

Jim Rendon’s research has revealed that as a result of their trauma, post-traumatic growth (PTG) includes changes in one of five major areas:

1. Increased inner strength

2. An openness to new possibilities in life

3. Closer and often deeper relationships with friends and family

4. An enhanced appreciation for life

5. A stronger sense of spirituality

I believe growth can only happen when there is a “rethinking”, a reflection and reassessment of oneself and the world. This type of growth isn’t necessary when everything in our life already makes sense to us. Only when things are turned upside down and shattered are we called to reflect on this layer of our core. When there is damage to our deep-down sense of self, a rebuilding of sorts is required. 

Although we may continue to be living along the stress/trauma continuum, we can begin to move the dial towards PTG by changing the narrative – how we talk about it. Throughout our Canadian book tour of Conversations with a Rattlesnake, Theo and I wrote the words “helping is healing and healing is possible” on every signed book. We still jot this down right inside each cover, to offer survivors of trauma the message that post-traumatic growth is within reach. We each possess more power and resources than we imagine. We have the power to change how we think, what we believe, how we grieve our losses, how we connect with others who inspire us and how we define and communicate our experiences. Each of these variables play a part in the momentum from trauma to growth. 

As we move into 2022 with our own continued challenges ahead, it is important to pause, reflect and recognize the positive shifts that have occurred within us and around us over the past year. Whether subtle or profound, forces of stress invite us to find deeper meaning and connection. We all want to live life from a place of peace and contentment. Towards this, why not use our own trauma as our own fertilizer?

References

Rendon, J. (2015). Upside: The new science of post-traumatic growth. Simon and Schuster.

Tedeschi, R. G., Shakespeare-Finch, J., Taku, K., & Calhoun, L. G. (2018). Posttraumatic growth: Theory, research, and applications. Routledge.