Post Traumatic Growth

In his book Upside: The New Science of Post Traumatic Growth, author Jim Rendon describes post traumatic growth in the following way: It’s about how a horrific event with permanent, life-altering consequences can transform a good life into a profoundly better and more meaningful one.

Post traumatic growth requires that a life altering event occurred. One does not necessarily have to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder in order to experience post traumatic growth. Also, post traumatic growth is just an option – it is neither a requirement nor a moral obligation to turn your pain into purpose.

Although post traumatic growth rarely hits the airways, research dates back to the early 1980’s. The earliest researchers studied prisoners of war and, this won’t surprise you: widows. They studied what people had learned and wanted to pass along to others, and in the case of widows it was how their husband’s deaths pushed them to discover how strong they could be.

People who experience post traumatic growth are found to have:

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

These outcomes are not in spite of the life altering event, but because of it.

As a reminder, post-traumatic growth is an option and not an obligation. There is no requirement to find your utmost strength and purpose in your life after loss.

It is, on the other hand, available to everyone. It is a choice, and it all starts with a thought.

In what ways have you changed for the better since your loss?

Consider what you have accomplished, your newfound strengths, your self-generated confidence. What did you leave in the past (perhaps people pleasing, not prioritizing your own needs, etc.)?

Look over the five outcomes listed above and ask yourself how many are true for you, and in what ways?

Perhaps post-traumatic growth is happening in your life, slowly and steadily. Or maybe it’s just too soon and you are, for now, merely learning to survive. No matter your whereabouts, you are in the right place for you. There is no timeline and there are no rules.

If post traumatic growth is appealing but you simply can’t find your way forward, I’ve got you. My private coaching program, Life Reconstructed, is what I wish I knew back then. If you’re ready to try something different in order to get different results, simply click here and we’ll see if it’s a fit.