Dear Solution-aries,
Ever since I watched my grandfather succeed as a businessman and father of five despite being half-paralyzed from polio, I’d wondered: How is it possible that some people emerge from pain fortified? Throughout my decades as a reporter, when I visited tsunami victims and torture survivors, these questions tugged at me: Why do some people fall apart after catastrophes while others not only survive, but thrive? What makes the difference? When I was diagnosed with a debilitating virus in my twenties and found myself bedridden for eight months, this quandary became deeply personal. How could I glue the smithereens of my life back together?
You have probably heard of posttraumatic stress. Yet, beyond the medical community, few are aware of the evidence of posttraumatic growth (or maybe you read about it in my book Bouncing Forward). As someone who has struggled with chronic illness, I initially recoiled at the suggestion. But eventually, I learned that this is a possibility, and perhaps you can, too?
Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte coined the term “posttraumatic growth.” When I visited them on campus, I learned that they didn’t invent a fancy theory and then try to prove it with studies; it was the other way around. They were consulting with trauma survivors, initially bereaved parents, then people who had lost the loves of their lives or were severely injured, cancer survivors, veterans, and prisoners. Again and again, people shared a perplexing insight: While they were not happy about what had happened to them, they felt they had learned valuable lessons from the experience and these lessons eventually changed their lives for the better. Of course they would prefer to have their loved ones back or their health restored. But they felt they became better parents, better partners, and more compassionate friends; many discovered a new purpose in life.
Almost 90 percent of us ― nearly everyone ― experiences at least one or more traumatic events. Nearly fifty percent of first marriages end in divorce. Every ten minutes in the U.S., a parent loses a child. This year, 2.1 million people will be diagnosed with cancer, estimates the American Cancer Society. Yes, traumatic events happen all the time. Whether it’s a common crisis, like a job loss or car crash, or a “capital T” trauma, like violence or severe illness, there is no shame in getting pummeled by a devastating event.
But it is also crucial to know that the trauma is not the end of our story. “What is revealed here is the dual nature of trauma: first, its destructive ability to rob victims of their capacity to live and enjoy life. The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect,” writes trauma therapist Peter Levine in “An Unspoken Voice”. “Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.”
I just revisited my research on posttraumatic growth for Premium Magazine.:
📖 Read the full story here:
Is it possible to benefit from hardship? Science says yes.
The documented phenomenon of posttraumatic growth shows why the worst doesn’t have to be the end.
If the gift link has already reached its limit, just reply to this email and I’ll happily send another.
The same edition of the magazine also features an updated profile of quadriplegic surfer Jesse Billauer. When I first profiled him for Bouncing Forward, he had already transformed a devastating spinal cord injury into a life devoted to helping others experience the joy of surfing.
You’ll be happy to learn he’s still surfing and skating and in fact is now a 4x world champion in adaptive surfing—while continuing to expand Life Rolls On, the nonprofit he founded to make surfing accessible to people of all abilities.
And many thanks to the Los Angeles Press Club for awarding me 2nd place in Solutions Journalism at the 68th SoCal Journalism Awards. The winning story focused on Navy SEALs who are using their skills diving for Force Blue to heal the ocean, turtles, and themselves. In many ways, it’s another story about posttraumatic growth—the same thread that has woven through so much of my reporting over the years.
📖 If you missed the story, read it again here (no paywall):
Former Navy SEALs Are Diving to Save the Ocean
In many ways, it’s another story about posttraumatic growth—the same thread that has woven through so much of my reporting over the years.
What helps you heal? For Jesse, it’s surfing; for the SEALs, it’s diving; for me, it’s writing.
Let me know what inspires you!
Cheerfully,
Michaela
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