"Western culture has taught us that suffering is a problem to be solved, discomfort a symptom to be medicated away, and trauma something to avoid at all costs. Yet, research by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun suggests we may have this entirely backwards. Their work on post-traumatic growth reveals that some of life's most profound transformations-positive changes in self-perception and relationships, greater self-awareness and confidence,"
"When I was eight years old, my house burned to the ground. It was just before Christmas, and my family had gathered with my aunts and uncles and cousins at our house to make gingerbread houses. We were happily gluing together gingerbread and singing Christmas carols when my father asked, " Does anybody else smell that?" We glanced around at one another for a moment before dismissing it as probably just some of the gingerbread burning."
Western norms treat suffering as a problem to solve, discomfort to medicate, and trauma to avoid. Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun identified post-traumatic growth, where individuals report positive changes after trauma: improved self-perception, deeper relationships, greater self-awareness and confidence, openness toward others, heightened appreciation of life, and discovery of new possibilities. Such growth can contradict common resilience and self-protection strategies. A childhood house fire example describes sudden evacuation during a family gathering, intense flames consuming possessions, neighbors gathering, and a child's curious, rather than panicked, response while watching the house burn.
Read at Psychology Today
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