Post Traumatic Growth
Post Traumatic Growth
Post traumatic growth is a real thing, and it’s very freeing and empowering for those who participate in it. Unfortunately, stories about the negative impact of trauma are the norm and the stories of growth often get lost in the shadows of the big T. As a counselor and Denver therapist, I see these things firsthand. We hear all about the terrible symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), like nightmares, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and substance abuse problems. We hear scary statistics about suicide and impairment from returning veterans or the consequences of childhood abuse in the news.
If that’s all you heard about, it would be easy to think that there is a bleak future for people who live through difficult things.
But that is not actually the case.
What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Stronger…Really
In fact, newer research is pointing to a striking pattern of Post Traumatic Growth in people who recover from trauma. While living through trauma is terrible, what also consistently happens is that the vast majority of those who recover identify their recovery work as resulting in overwhelmingly positive, meaningful, and powerful personal growth.
People on the other side of healing often describe feeling more grateful for small things, loving more deeply, and feeling that they have more depth and purpose in their lives. They feel that their relationships are more satisfying, and that they take more pleasure in life. Many also describe feeling that they are stronger, more compassionate, and more capable of love. Even more report having the belief that their lives transformed because of their trauma, creating beauty, strength, and meaning that they hadn’t had before.
That doesn’t sound terribly “broken,” does it? No. Research supports the fact that people’s lives don’t end because of tragedy. More often, they are actually reborn. People are resilient, courageous, and inspiring — and the trajectory of their lives show it. They go on to write other chapters, have new experiences, and live and grow in ways that may not have been possible before.
Healing From Trauma, Leaning into Post Traumatic Growth
Let’s also not minimize how profoundly terrible trauma is. Before you’ve successfully recovered from a traumatic life experience, it can be debilitating. When you’re sitting in the painful aftermath of a horrific life experiencing, and coping with the awfulness of it, it feels impossible to consider even feeling okay, much less good.
It might even be hard to hear that there is a time “after” this, and that there may be more hope, purpose, self awareness, compassion, strength, and unconditional love than you can even imagine now. Especially if, right now, your work is to give yourself permission to not be okay and to feel the dark feelings and big emotions that need to be felt. That can be an important part of the healing process too.
Once again, on The Love, Happiness and Success Podcast, we’ll be riding into the darkness together for the purpose of helping you find your way towards peace and healing. I want you to know that there is a path forward. You can move past the hurt, past the healing, and into growth. And I’m here to help.
We’ll start by talking about trauma: how it happens, what it does to you, and how it’s healed.
Taking Your Power Back
But wait, there’s more.
No one’s journey through recovering from trauma is the same. For some people healing happens through trauma-informed therapy. For others, self help, physical strategies, or important self-care acts (like this guide to easing stress and anxiety) ease the pain and open the door to healing. Yet others find peace through their work. For many, it’s a combination of all of the above.
To talk about what Post-Traumatic Growth looks like in action, I’ve invited an incredibly inspiring special guest to join me for today’s episode, stand up comedian Jo Kimbrell.
Jo’s own personal transformation was born out of trauma and her journey of healing took her through yoga teacher training, writing, dream work, body work… and open-mic night in cigar bars.
Listen to Jo’s story, hear her words of wisdom, and be inspired to bravely open the door to a new chapter for yourself, too.
Jo and I discuss many resources over the course of our conversation. Here are the links I promised to share with you:
Book: Dreams of Healing, by Kelly Bulkeley
Book: Trauma and Recovery, by Judith Herman
Assessment: The ACE Questionnaire
Hope all this helps you find your way forward, too.
xoxo, Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby
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Post Traumatic Growth
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Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby is the founder and clinical director of Growing Self. She is a licensed psychologist, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and a board-certified coach, as well as the author of “Exaholics: Breaking Your Addiction to Your Ex Love,” and the host of The Love, Happiness & Success Podcast.
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Hi Dr Lisa,
I agree it takes a long time to muster the courage to deal with deep trauma, but now that I’m working through my own I’m so glad that I have finally begun.
Thanks for tackling the dread beast of PTSD, I would be keen if you could go a step further and address Complex PTSD?
(Am looking forward to fully moving into the post – trauma growth phase 🙂
Hi Jonathan! I’m so glad that my recent podcast on PTSD helped you as you embark on your own journey of healing. Yes, it can take REALLY long time to feel ready to overcome the fear-of-facing-the-fear aspect of trauma, but the benefits are so enormous, and so life changing, it’s totally worth it. Yay for you!!
As for the subject of complex trauma — that’s a very important topic and I’m glad you brought it up. (For those of you who may be reading this and not familiar with the term, “complex trauma,” it refers to the experience of being traumatized numerous times, in different ways, through various stages of life, with compounding effects.) As much as I appreciate your confidence in my to speak knowledgeably on this subject, the truth is that the treatment of complex trauma is a very specific subset of therapy that requires years of specialized training, education, supervision and experience to master — and it is not one of mine.
However, here are some good resources I’m familiar with that you might consider incorporating into your work with your therapist. (Who, I’m assuming, DOES have specialized training and experience in evidence-based trauma-focused therapy) Complex PTSD, From Surviving to Thriving, and The Complex PTSD Workbook. I sincerely hope that these resources help you on your journey towards peace, health and happiness Jonathan…. LMB
Hi Dr Lisa,
I agree it takes a long time to muster the courage to deal with deep trauma, but now that I’m working through my own I’m so glad that I have finally begun.
Thanks for tackling the dread beast of PTSD, I would be keen if you could go a step further and address Complex PTSD?
(Am looking forward to fully moving into the post – trauma growth phase 🙂
Hi Jonathan! I’m so glad that my recent podcast on PTSD helped you as you embark on your own journey of healing. Yes, it can take REALLY long time to feel ready to overcome the fear-of-facing-the-fear aspect of trauma, but the benefits are so enormous, and so life changing, it’s totally worth it. Yay for you!!
As for the subject of complex trauma — that’s a very important topic and I’m glad you brought it up. (For those of you who may be reading this and not familiar with the term, “complex trauma,” it refers to the experience of being traumatized numerous times, in different ways, through various stages of life, with compounding effects.) As much as I appreciate your confidence in my to speak knowledgeably on this subject, the truth is that the treatment of complex trauma is a very specific subset of therapy that requires years of specialized training, education, supervision and experience to master — and it is not one of mine.
However, here are some good resources I’m familiar with that you might consider incorporating into your work with your therapist. (Who, I’m assuming, DOES have specialized training and experience in evidence-based trauma-focused therapy) Complex PTSD, From Surviving to Thriving, and The Complex PTSD Workbook. I sincerely hope that these resources help you on your journey towards peace, health and happiness Jonathan…. LMB
My trauma has now affected my current marriage to a pain where there might not be a return. I have listened to almost all your podcasts & how I wished I would seen these months or years ago. These are very informative and life changing. We have seen council but it seems like your podcasts is way more efficient for me. Everything you are speaking on opens my eyes and you are showing me a clear path for consistency and change. Thank you.
Martika, thank you for sharing. I hope you continue to reach out for counseling. Sometimes it takes another try to find the best fit. I’ll be sending my thoughts your way, Dr. Lisa