Why Some People Thrive After Trauma

TAKE THAT DR. MATÉ –

Jan. 9, 2023 – The pandemic was a collective, global trauma. Even if you were lucky and navigated the last few years without losing loved ones, a job or becoming ill, the experience of living under lockdowns, the uncertainty of a dangerous virus spreading through the world and the curtailment of freedom was a lived trauma. It’s a loss we all carry.

Some people have responded to that grief in incredible ways. They have started businesses, new relationships, and even social movements. It turns out there’s a term for this — and some helpful lessons that go along with it.

The concept of post-traumatic growth was developed in the 1990s by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun. Suggesting that people can not only survive traumatic experiences but thrive in their wake, the concept of post-traumatic growth means more than bearing the weight of sadness, disease, crime or a cruel twist of fate. It refers to a period of reflection that fuels self-improvement, in which people in some cases emerge wiser and more resilient than before.