Is there anything to gain from having experienced trauma? Is there any helpful way to relate to the emotional distress that lingers after the event?
The concept of “post-traumatic growth” offers hope! Post-traumatic growth is a relatively new concept in the field of behavioral health, which purports that distressing–even harmful–events can lead to positive outcomes; lending credibility to the phrase: “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” For example, a military veteran who lost a friend in battle demonstrates post-traumatic growth by becoming a peer counselor to other combat veterans.
The following are three questions you can ask yourself to determine whether the very thing you would have rather avoided has unexpectedly made you stronger and more resourceful:
- Has my past trauma changed my priorities about what’s important in life?
- Has my past trauma led to the creation of a new path for my life?
- Do I know better that I can handle difficult situations?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions you may consider that, although you cannot change the past, you can use the present moment to consider how you are positively transforming the way you approach the challenges of life.
Written by Tony Madril
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