Post-traumatic growth. Phoenix is the eternal symbol of rebirth from the ashes. Similarly, our mind, when we get trauma, is not necessarily damaged. Moreover, for most people, post-traumatic growth is more likely than the post-traumatic disorder. When trauma crushes our world, our minds can be deformed. The desperate feeling of inability to change something can lead to learned helplessness, we can lose faith in our values and become frustrated, and angry at the world and people, and we can transfer our aggression to third-party people. Rethinking can be painful, but it's important. Post-traumatic growth allows you to become stronger physically and mentally.
Here are 10 points that will allow you to transform trauma not into post-traumatic disorder, but into growth.
1. Be proactive. Be strong. The test of helplessness is the most dangerous. Do whatever you can. Take control of even the smallest things. Trauma causes a desire to shrink and freeze, counteract this and expand your zone of autonomous control. Only you know what to do for you
2. Refresh, maintain and create new meanings and narratives, and values. The fragility of life gives it a great value. Understanding this, we voluntarily assume the obligation to make a choice. Be committed to your values, and don’t be a victim of circumstance. The possibilities of each of us are limited, but we must be strong in the borders of what we can.
3. Save your own self-esteem, don’t accept the position of the victim. Whatever happens, you have "the most important human freedom - in any circumstances to choose my own attitude to what is happening."
4. Use basic negativity coping skills. Any simple thing feeds optimism and activates any area of life that is not affected by trauma.
5. Be open to experience and willing to accept the challenge of fate. Believe that it is possible and important to learn and grow, to learn from both positive and negative life events. Don’t reject reality, accept what happens.
6. Support. The possibility of self-disclosure and the support of loved ones. Altruism, helping, serving others, supporting loved ones, volunteering.
7. Be creative. In times of stress, we act automatically. Look for and come up with non-standard solutions.
8. Sense of humor. Black medical humor also helps doctors cope with death. Cynical, but therapeutic, use it.
9. Follow a basic routine. Follow the usual rituals or come up with new ones. The routine stabilizes mind and body, and the regimen of eating, moving, sleeping, and working allows you to keep a clear mind.
10. Be strong. If you can't solve a problem at the current level, you need to outgrow it. The ability to be brave includes accepting reality, problem-solving, and determination. It helps to find new opportunities and turn trauma into growth.
Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth. Research and Practice 2006
Trauma and Transformation: Growing in the Aftermath of Suffering By Richard G. Tedeschi, Lawrence G.