The concept of post-traumatic growth (PTD) was first proposed by Tedeschi and Calhoun in 1996. However, it has been emphasized in previous years that painful events in many fields such as literature, philosophy and religion can enable us to find the meaning of life. TSB concept 20th century. It started to take place in the field of psychology with the influence of existentialist and humanist approaches. Despite experiencing a difficult life event, it is possible for a person to become more positive and self-confident than before.
Tedeschi and Calhoun explain post-traumatic growth through the metaphor of “earthquake”. The collapse of assumptions about life as a result of a traumatic experience is likened to the effect of an earthquake on buildings. The traumatic experience can severely shake, threaten, or completely wreck a person's cognitive schemas. However, it is the struggle of the person after this traumatic experience that will determine whether the person will experience traumatic growth or not. Cognitive processing and restructuring after a traumatic experience is likened to the physically restructuring of buildings after an earthquake. Cognitive restructuring after traumatic event; It enables the formation of more durable schemas in the face of traumatic events by taking into account the trauma and possible events that may occur in the future. This situation is called post-traumatic growth.
FIVE SUB-DIMENSIONS OF POST-TRARACULAR GROWTH
1. Positive Changes in Self-Perception
As the person can cope with a difficult life event, he starts to feel powerful and his self-confidence increases. The person begins to see himself or herself no longer as a "victim" but as a "fighter". The individual develops a more fragile but stronger sense of self.
2. Positive Changes in Interpersonal Relationships
The traumatized person begins to empathize better, learns from others. better share their pain. Thus, he begins to communicate better with people. Person after trauma Ace has a desire to express himself and open his feelings. In this case, sincerity and warmth increase in the relationships established after the trauma.
3.Positive Changes in Understanding the Value of Life
The person who survived the trauma is given a second chance at life. can see as. It can engage in existential thinking about life. With life being more appreciated and changing priorities, the person may begin to enjoy things that are a part of his daily life that he could not have noticed before.
4.Positive Changes in Recognizing New Options
The person acquires new and necessary goals, thinking that he has to give up his old goals, which are no longer attainable. At the same time, the person becomes open to new opportunities that were not possible or unavailable before.
5th Development in the Belief System
With the deepening of the existential experience, the person changes his/her religious beliefs. begins to reformulate.
FACTORS TO SUPPORT POST-TRARAUS GROWTH
Social Support: The social support that the individual receives from his/her environment after trauma causes stress. It regulates the potential pathological reaction against it.
To be able to accept: It is important for the person to accept the situations that are impossible to change in order to adapt to life again.
Cognitive Schemas : Being aware of one's positive emotions even in stressful situations and not being able to process the relevant information positively affects adjustment in the post-traumatic experience
CAN EVERY INDIVIDUAL GROWTH AFTER TRAUMA?
Growth is not a direct result of trauma. Not every traumatized individual can experience growth. What really matters is how the individual struggles with the reality after the traumatic event. There are several variables that affect post-traumatic growth; personality traits, attachment styles, coping attitudes, and the schemas we form against life are some of them.
The long-term consequences of trauma include gains and losses. One of the determinants of growth is which of these should the traumatized person focus on? is the mother. After a traumatic experience, the person can become aware of his previous illusions and develop a new perspective on life, and can be prepared for new traumas by seeing that there may be unpredictable aspects of life. A person can learn his vulnerable side and his strong side.
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