Recognizable questions
- Can personal growth also emerge after a life-changing event?
- Does growth mean that what happened to me was ultimately ‘good’ for me?
- Can I still feel grief or have complaints and at the same time notice that I’ve changed?
- Why does one person experience growth in certain areas and another hardly at all?
- Do I have to get something positive out of my loss or trauma in order to truly recover?
- Can what I experience as growth later change again?
- What is the difference between posttraumatic growth and resilience?
What is posttraumatic growth?
Posttraumatic growth (posttraumatic growth, PTG) is a term from psychology for positive changes that some people experience in themselves after a life-changing crisis or very stressful experience.
For example, it can involve changes in:
appreciation for life
↓
relationships with others
↓
new possibilities
↓
personal strength
↓
view of life
or a sense of meaningThe term does not mean the trauma itself was positive. It describes possible changes that can arise after confronting something life-changing.
Trauma does not have to be ‘good’ in order to grow later
This distinction is essential.
After a difficult experience, someone may set boundaries more firmly, develop different priorities, or build new relationships.
That does not imply:
‘So it was good that this happened.’
LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE
↓
pain and loss
and possibly
new insights
new choices
personal developmentGrowth does not make the original suffering necessary, desirable, or justified.
Growth is not a required part of recovery
Not everyone experiences posttraumatic growth.
Some people recover without thinking:
‘Because of this, I’ve become a better or stronger person.’
Others continue to feel loss for a long time. Still others notice positive changes in one area and problems in another.
None of these responses means someone is recovering better or worse.
AFTER SETBACK, SOMEONE CAN
recover without
clear growth
or
experience growth
or
experience loss and growth
at the same timePosttraumatic growth is therefore not a developmental phase that everyone is supposed to go through.
Pain and growth can coexist
Posttraumatic growth does not mean that complaints or grief have disappeared.
Someone may think:
‘I now know much better what matters to me.’
and at the same time:
‘I still wish this had never happened.’
‘I have changed’
and
‘I still feel grief’
and
‘I would not want to
go through this again’These statements do not contradict each other.
Why can growth occur?
Life-changing events can shake beliefs about yourself, other people, and the future.
For example, someone thought:
‘My life will roughly stay the same.’
‘This relationship will always be there.’
‘This faith explains what my future looks like.’
A crisis can shatter such assumptions.
MY OLD VIEW
OF LIFE
↓
life-changing event
↓
old assumptions
no longer fully fit
↓
rethinking
↓
possibly new
values, choices
and meaningThat process can be very painful. But while rebuilding a life story, new insights can also emerge.
What forms of growth are studied?
Tedeschi and Calhoun, pioneers in research on posttraumatic growth, described several areas in which people may experience change.
Greater appreciation for life: ordinary things or relationships gain more meaning.
Relationships: someone feels more connection, empathy, or clarity about which relationships matter.
New possibilities: new interests, roles, or life directions emerge.
Personal strength: someone discovers, for example: ‘I could handle more than I thought.’
Meaning or worldview: beliefs about life, faith, spirituality, or meaning can change.
Not everyone experiences all of these forms.
An everyday example
Someone develops a serious illness.
During treatment there is mainly fear, physical strain, and uncertainty. Later, that person decides to work fewer overtime hours and to spend time with family and friends more intentionally.
SERIOUS ILLNESS
was painful
and undesired
↓
afterward the person
changes certain
priorities
↓
‘I want to spend my time
differently’The changed priorities may be experienced as growth.
But that does not make the illness a good thing in hindsight.
Post-traumatic growth is not the same as resilience
The concepts are closely related, but they mean different things.
RESILIENCE
adapting,
recovering or continuing
to function after setbacks
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH
experiencing that certain
aspects of yourself
or your life
have changed for the betterSo someone can recover very resiliently without showing clear post-traumatic growth.
And someone can describe growth while still having many psychological symptoms.
“I’ve become stronger” — but can that be measured objectively?
There is an important scientific nuance here.
Much research into post-traumatic growth asks people afterward, themselves, whether they have changed positively since a major event.
That mainly measures perceived growth.
But:
‘I experience myself
as stronger’
is not always
the same as
‘An objective measure
shows clear change
compared with
before the event’Research has shown that perceived growth and demonstrable change do not always fully overlap.
That does not make perceived growth worthless. It does mean caution is needed when concluding that every reported instance of growth is an objectively measurable personality change.
Why can perceived growth still be important?
The way someone gives meaning to their life story can be important in itself.
The thought:
“I’ve discovered what matters to me.”
can provide direction for future choices, even when it cannot be precisely measured how much someone has objectively changed.
That is why scientists study both actual change and the meaning people themselves attach to change.
Growth doesn’t have to be big or spectacular
Post-traumatic growth is sometimes presented as a huge transformation:
“My trauma made me who I was meant to become.”
But changes can also be small.
I say no more often
I call my friends
sooner
I dare to ask for help
I take rest more seriously
I know better
what matters to meThose kinds of changes can be meaningful too.
Looking for meaning is not the same as having to find a positive lesson
After loss or trauma, people often look for meaning.
But meaning does not have to be:
“This had to happen.”
It can also be:
“It happened. What do I want to do with my life now?”
NOT NECESSARILY:
‘Something good
had to come out of this’
POSSIBLE TOO:
‘This was awful
and I want to decide
how I live from here
onward’That distinction prevents suffering from being romanticized.
How can this show up among (former) Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Some former Jehovah’s Witnesses describe positive developments after a change in faith, such as more independence, new relationships, more room for personal choices, or a broader sense of identity.
Another person may mainly feel grief over family contact, community, identity, or a lost future outlook.
And someone may feel both at the same time.
POSSIBLE LOSS
family
friends
community
security
identity
and
POSSIBLE CHANGE
more autonomy
new relationships
different values
new possibilitiesIt would be careless to say that someone is better off because of the loss, or that leaving automatically leads to growth.
Staying within a faith can also involve growth
Post-traumatic growth is not a concept that only applies to leaving.
A Jehovah’s Witness can also experience new priorities, deeper relationships, or greater appreciation for life after illness, bereavement, relationship problems, or another crisis.
The mechanism is broadly human.
Psychology therefore does not prescribe which worldview conclusion someone should reach after a crisis.
Not experiencing growth is not a failure
This may be the most important caution on this topic.
Statements like:
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“You’ll come out of this stronger.”
“Later you’ll understand why this was necessary.”
can be comforting for one person and painful for another.
NO PERCEIVED GROWTH
≠
poorly processed
≠
not strong enough
≠
failedSomeone does not have to turn their pain into an inspiring story in order to deserve recovery.
Growth can happen in one area and loss in another
For example, someone may become more independent personally while at the same time missing family contact.
Or gain more self-confidence but still struggle with anxiety symptoms.
MORE AUTONOMY
↑
AND AT THE SAME TIME
MORE GRIEF
ABOUT FAMILY
↓Human development does not have to move in just one direction.
Why does one person grow differently from another?
There is no simple formula for that.
Research points to possible links with factors such as social support, personality, ways of coping with stress, opportunities for making meaning, and the circumstances surrounding the loss.
But such links are no guarantee.
That is why it is not useful to tell someone:
‘You should be showing growth by now.’
Be careful about pressure to be positive
An emphasis on growth can unintentionally turn into:
‘Look for the positive in it.’
That can lead someone to try to skip over pain, anger, or injustice too quickly.
HEALTHY:
‘Has something changed
that is valuable to me?’
PRESSURE:
‘I have to get
something positive
out of this’Post-traumatic growth should be a possible observation, not an assignment.
You do not have to be grateful for trauma
Someone may say:
‘I’m proud of who I became afterward.’
without saying:
‘I’m glad it happened.’
PROUD OF
MY DEVELOPMENT
≠
GRATEFUL FOR
THE TRAUMAThe first acknowledges personal development.
The second assigns meaning to the event itself.
Those are different things.
What can you do with it?
Don’t immediately ask:
‘What was good about this?’
A less forceful approach is:
What have I lost?
What has changed?
What have I learned?
What matters to me
more now?
What do I want to do
differently?
And what do I not need
to turn into a positive
lesson at all?That keeps room for both growth and loss.
Questions to think about
Which priorities have changed after this experience?
Have I discovered something about myself that I didn’t know before?
Have my relationships, boundaries, or values changed?
Which changes do I experience as positive and which as a loss?
Can I acknowledge that I have grown without saying that what happened to me was good?
Am I putting pressure on myself to get something positive out of my experience?
Can it be enough that I keep living, even when I don’t experience any clear ‘growth’?
Summary
Post-traumatic growth describes positive changes that some people experience in themselves after a major crisis.
That can involve appreciation for life, relationships, personal strength, new possibilities, or a sense of meaning.
MAJOR EXPERIENCE
↓
can cause pain and loss
and sometimes
new insights
new priorities
new possibilitiesGrowth does not mean that the trauma was good, necessary, or ultimately ‘worth it.’
Nor is growth a required stage of recovery. Someone may heal without finding a positive lesson.
And even when someone does experience growth, grief and psychological symptoms can still remain.
The core question is therefore not:
‘What good has my trauma brought me?’
but rather:
‘Has something in me or in my life changed that I personally experience as valuable — while at the same time I am allowed to acknowledge what it has cost me?’
Sources and further reading
Richard G. Tedeschi & Lawrence G. Calhoun – The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the Positive Legacy of Trauma, 1996. Introduces a widely used questionnaire for perceived positive changes after major events.
Lawrence G. Calhoun & Richard G. Tedeschi – Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence, 2004. On the theoretical basis of post-traumatic growth and the various areas in which people may experience change.
Tanja Zoellner & Andreas Maercker – Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Psychology: A Critical Review and Introduction of a Two Component Model, 2006. A critical discussion of the concept and of the possible difference between constructive change and perceived or illusory growth.
Patricia A. Frazier e.a. – Does Self-Reported Posttraumatic Growth Reflect Genuine Positive Change?, 2009. Research into the extent to which self-reported growth corresponds with demonstrable change.
Vicki S. Helgeson, Kerry A. Reynolds & Patricia L. Tomich – A Meta-Analytic Review of Benefit Finding and Growth, 2006. A meta-analysis of perceived benefits and growth after major events and their relationship to psychological functioning.
Read also
Resilience – Adapting after adversity without pain necessarily having to disappear.
Grief and loss – Adjusting to a reality in which something important is no longer the same.
Delayed grief – When sorrow only becomes clear or intensely felt later on.
Need for meaning – How people, after major changes, look for coherence and direction again.
Self-compassion – Allowing room for pain without forcing yourself to recover faster.
Social identity – What happens when an important group or role is part of who you think you are.
Being true to yourself – Exploring which values and choices really fit you after change.
