How to be reborn without having been reduced to ashes?
Famous 19th-century philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche. In his masterpiece Thus Spake Zarathustra, the perpetual return is announced: everything human tends to repeat itself; our well-being depends on wanting everything to repeat itself more or less as it did.
If pain destroyed your life, how could you be reborn without ashes? How to construct a trail you want to ride again?
Psychology has concentrated on defining clinical entities or diseases to treat. Psychology now focuses as much on the negative as on human strengths.
Positive psychology has a more optimistic perspective of human nature, which leads to concepts like post-traumatic growth.
To experience post-traumatic growth, new values must be accepted.
The human ability to handle hardship is remarkable. Some people profit so much from a difficult event that they could declare it helped them. The profitability of a deeply painful experience is that it prevented others from causing greater suffering and less learning.
Thus, we imply not that suffering is profitable (and therefore good), but that we can magically give it constructive meaning.
To rise from the ashes means to acquire new values, which requires a fresh view on the world. Many studies show that humans may overcome life's challenges and emerge stronger, more resilient, and mentally unharmed.
Survivors of catastrophic events often learn from their battle with the sudden changes in their lives.
-Tedeschi-
Emerging stronger from a bad situation is growth. Tedeschi defines post-traumatic growth as constructive transformation that occurs as people struggle with life's challenges to improve their functioning.
Learning or benefiting does not negate suffering. Tedeschi believes pain and post-traumatic growth coexist. This seems contradictory, but trauma creates a deep rift in humans. Thus, post-traumatic growth requires happy and negative emotions.
“Post-traumatic growth is not just about maintaining functionality; the event leads you to a better situation for deep existential meaning.
-Tedeschi-
Post-traumatic growth is painful.
Post-traumatic growth components
Some people have trouble finding the benefits in negative situations, yet we know that three main aspects recur:
We get strength and identity from overcoming adversity. In a decent depiction of trauma, our vulnerability is present, but so is our confidence and hope of overcoming future challenges.
Interpersonal relationships change. Our support network becomes more helpful, cohesive, and warm. Family relationships are sometimes strengthened by working together to solve a shared problem. Sharing what happened or asking for help often increases after this.
Spirituality and life philosophy may evolve. After rising from the ashes, we appreciate what we have and distinguish what is vital from what is not.
What does research say? No unanimity exists on posttraumatic growth stability. The numbers range from 3% for grieving participants to 98% for breast cancer patients.