Topic Tuesday // PTSD & Post Traumatic Growth // Tues 20 Feb, 7pm AEDT

@Bubbles3I am getting confused too but am just reading long for now. Yes it is fast paced tonight but remember that this thread will be here tomorrow/next week. I think in a few days I will come back and read it at a slower pace and then do some of my own research on it. How does that sound?

Hey @Bubbles3, it's really hard to keep up with these discussions. I struggle myself so my apologies for not acknowleding your response earlier. Yes, what you describe is growth. And hopefully planting the seed tonight will give you a chance to recognise other things that might be too.

Although trauma is not an official part of my diagnosis (bipolar), I was an ongoing witness to violence in the home as a child, and experienced violence towards me on multiple occasions. I am interested that these are said to be the most difficult forms of trauma to grow from. It makes sense in my experience because I continue to find it difficult to find real peace from those experiences, though there are in some cases five decades ago. Whereas many other very negative experiences in my adulthood seem to have had less impact on me.

Excellent point @Former-Member

I've been working on opposites of feeling & thought (from the iRest program) for some months now.

I keep reminding mysef eg Despair has an opposite - Joy (for me)...

Adge

thanks for the response @Former-Member not sure it answers what I thought I was asking, but I'll ponder more upon it. Thank you for your time and input. Appreciated.

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@Former-Memberwrote:

I'm interested to know if others have ideas on what helped them to grow following trauma.

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@Former-Member I seem to still be in the just-trying-to-survive stage. I've only been in this stage for 22 years, you can't rush these things you know.

I think I missed a really important point about whether it can be growth if others see it as a negative @Former-Member. I'm tempted to say no although it's a very tentative and qualified no. Just because the areas of growth that I listed earlier, which form part of the questionnaire to judge growth in the research, are hard to interpret negatively. Unless of course your growth involves joining a religion that doesn't sit well with loved ones! But the rest are pretty benign - feeling stronger yourself, appreciating life more etc.

Are you able to give an example of something you see as a positive but others interpret differently? I'm intrigued!

I seem to be in survival mode much of the time @Phoenix_Rising Despite possible PTG

I guess one doesn't exclude the other, as @Former-Member said earlier.

Adge

I’m not sure if I’ve got what you meant before but I’ll have a go because it sounds really interesting. I interpreted it to mean that you may see something that’s changed or as growth but others looking from the outside can’t see it. In my case I’m still very dysfunctional but I know I think about things very differently now. I see that as growth but it’s invisisble to others. Am I close 😜