Understanding Posttraumatic Growth

PTSD and PTG can both arise from psychological struggle with a highly stressful or traumatic event. PTSD is a diagnosis marked by the experience of multiple trauma-related symptoms, to include re-experiencing the trauma (intrusive thoughts, memories, flashbacks, or nightmares), avoidance behaviors (avoiding people and situations that remind us of trauma), cognitive distortions (loss of memory, counterproductive ideas about life and what happened, persistent negative mood), and increased arousal (irritability, aggressive behavior, hypervigilance, startling easily, sleep problems).

Posttraumatic growth is a process whereby we transform our struggle into a new path, and an outcome where we experience positive changes because of the struggle in the aftermath of trauma. Some people experience symptoms of PTSD and posttraumatic growth at the same time.

In many cases people experience life-changing circumstances that are not easily described in terms of a single event. In combat, it may not be a single engagement or battle that is the catalyst for change, but an entire deployment into a combat zone. The terminal illness of a loved one may extend over days or months and include many interactions with that person and others. In such cases it can be difficult to identify a single event that has shattered our core beliefs, and indeed, our core beliefs may be shattered over a period through the cumulation of events that challenge our ways of thinking.

It is possible to notice parts of the PTG process emerging in the aftermath of traumatic events. For example, we might see intrusive thoughts giving way to more deliberate thoughts. This might signify that we are starting to accept what has happened and construct new sets of core beliefs. We might observe disclosure in ourselves or others including themes of growth and transformation. Similarly, we can observe when the story of what happened is being told in a way that incorporates elements of PTG (e.g. personal strength, new possibilities for life, etc.). Noticing elements of the PTG process unfolding in the aftermath of trauma can give us clues that it is happening.

It is important to remember that growth can be accompanied by struggle, emotional distress, dysregulation, and even symptoms of PTSD.

The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (link) is a survey tool that can be used to assess the extent to which someone is experiencing or has experienced PTG.

To learn more about the PTG process and how to recognize it, watch the “PTG Process” videos above.

There is no specific timeframe for experiencing PTG. The process begins with the shattering of core beliefs and may unfold for months to years afterwards.

For more information about PTG and how to experience it you can read Struggle Well: Thriving in the Aftermath of Trauma. 

Visit our online resource center to find resources about PTG curated just for you.

Although Dr. Tedeschi and Dr. Calhoun coined the term posttraumatic growth in the 1990’s, the idea that human beings can be changed by their encounters with life challenges, sometimes in radically positive ways, is not new. The theme is present in ancient spiritual and religious traditions, literature, and philosophy. What is reasonably new is the systematic study of this phenomenon by psychologists, social workers, counselors, and scholars in other traditions of clinical practice and scientific investigation.