The word trauma was first used in Ancient Greece for soldiers whose armor was pierced and injured. There is a similarity between the first definition of trauma, which corresponds to the destruction of physical defenses, and the current psychological definition (Tummey & Turner, 2008). A traumatic event refers to a situation that we cannot make sense of with our current psychological infrastructure, that we cannot protect ourselves well enough from, and that we cannot cope with with our current coping methods. And something gets hurt, the assumptions we have about ourselves and life are destroyed. Questions such as "Why did this happen to me?", "What will I do now?" remain unanswered for a while. In this sense, trauma is more than experiencing a negative life event or being exposed to a bad event.
After trauma, the person may experience a distressing process related to the traumatic event. Research is generally concerned with the psychological consequences of traumatic events that cause distress to the person, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. (Kaltman, Green, Mete, Shara, & Miranda, 2010; O'Donnell, Creamer, & Pattison, 2004). However, although people experience some negative changes after a traumatic experience, they can also experience some positive changes. Recently, positive changes experienced after trauma have begun to attract the attention of researchers.
A person may experience some positive changes, generally referred to as 'Post-Traumatic Growth (PTD)' in the literature, as a result of difficult life events. Post-traumatic growth refers not only to post-traumatic recovery but also to post-traumatic growth. In other words, a person shows some improvements in his psychological capacity after a traumatic experience compared to before this experience. These positive changes can be reflected in the person's self-perception, relationships with others, and views about the world (Tedeschi, Park, & Calhoun, 1998).
To give a concrete example, a person may experience a change in his or her self-perception after a traumatic experience. For example, a person who experiences a difficult life event may feel stronger than before (Abraído-Lanza, Guier, Colón, 1998). Z. Experiencing a painful event and coping with it may allow a person to see himself/herself stronger. For example, seeing oneself as a coper rather than a victim may make it easier for a person to feel stronger (Tedeschi et al., 1998).
Additionally, a person sees his or her own vulnerability when faced with a traumatic life event. Getting to know the side of oneself that may be vulnerable may allow the person to share more with the people they are in relationships with, to express themselves more, or to express more emotions. This will mean establishing closer relationships (Tedeschi et al., 1998). Additionally, being aware of one's vulnerability may enable one to have more empathy, compassion, and help behavior (Tedeschi et al., 1998). Research has found that people who have experienced trauma show more helping behavior than people who have not (Doğan, 2015; Frye, 2014; RabotegSaric et al., 1994). Vollhardt (2009) stated that suffering can unite us with others in need as people who share a common fate. He stated that, as people who share a common destiny, we can perceive people who need help as in-group members, which may increase our likelihood of helping.
Additionally, the person may experience a change in his or her ideas about the world. The person may begin to think of his or her life as a second chance or feel more grateful for life (Cordova, Cunningham, Carlson, and Andrykowski, 2001). These difficult experiences may also push the person to try to find the meaning of life. The questions asked or the answers found to find the meaning of life enrich the person's wisdom (Tedeschi et al., 1998). People may also experience spiritual changes, such as feeling more in the presence of God.
Interestingly, some studies have found a positive relationship between post-traumatic stress symptoms and post-traumatic growth variables (Helgeson, Reynolds, & Tomich, 2006). In other words, as the person's stress symptoms become more severe, their data regarding post-traumatic growth also increases. Post-traumatic experiences To give an example of the symptoms of stress: There may be situations related to re-experiencing the trauma, such as the person involuntarily remembering the traumatic event over and over again, having distressing dreams about the event, feeling like he is reliving the event, feeling intense psychological distress or experiencing physical reactions when faced with situations that remind him of the event. In addition, the person may experience avoidance-related stress, such as avoiding thoughts, feelings and situations that remind of the event, not being able to remember some parts of the event, dullness in emotions, moving away from people, decreasing interest in activities he/she used to love, and feeling like he/she has no future. In addition, the person may show symptoms of startle-related stress such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, irritability and anger, difficulty concentrating, excessive startle reactions, and feeling alert (DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association [APA]). , 2000).
The same directional relationship between these stress symptoms seen after trauma and post-traumatic growth, which expresses post-traumatic growth, implies that stress symptoms may be more than expressing stress. Joseph and Linley (2006) two While interpreting this positive relationship between the variables, he drew attention to the fact that the traumatic event shakes the person's assumptions about life and himself. Traumatic experience shakes what we assume about ourselves and life. We may experience a process in which we cannot make sense of what we have experienced and do not know where to put what we have experienced. This affects what the person knows about himself and life after the trauma. Joseph and Linley also emphasized this process and stated that post-traumatic stress symptoms may express a post-traumatic search for meaning and the process of rebuilding these assumptions. In other words, this stressful process may indicate not being able to make sense of what is experienced, but also an attempt to make sense of it. It is assumed that stress will decrease when the person rebuilds what he knew about himself and life before the trauma, that is, when he begins to make sense of it. With this connection, there is an implication that stress is not just stress, but that it can express a person's process of questioning.
However, Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) emphasize that post-traumatic growth is not a result that develops naturally as a result of a sad event. He states that post-traumatic growth develops as a result of the person's struggle to adapt to the new situation after the trauma. If a person questions his assumptions about himself and life and rebuilds them, some changes may occur in his mindset. In this sense, post-traumatic growth indicates a process of cognitive questioning.
In conclusion, it can be said that trauma is not an experience that only takes away something from us or only wounds us. Or it is not just a process in which something breaks away from us. At the same time, it can have effects such as looking at life from a different perspective, incorporating new things into our lives, seeing different possibilities, adding new items to our value judgments, gaining insight into our own limits, and reaching conclusions about ourselves that we did not pay attention to before. For this, there is a need to stop, take time for ourselves and our pain, and try to understand where this sad experience touches us. Sometimes a person may feel like he/she will be very upset if he/she gets upset and will never be able to get it together again. That's why he avoids thinking and feeling emotions. However, avoidance may not be the answer to uneasiness. However, making sense of what we are experiencing and mourning the loss can save us from the uncontrollability of the distressing effects of traumatic experiences. Being able to confront what is also opens the door to positive changes.
References
Abraído-Lanza, A. F., Guier, C., & Colón, R. M. (1998). Psychologically thriving among Latinas with chronic illness. Journal of Social Issues, 54(2), 405– 424.
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: APA.
Cordova, M. J., Cunningham, L. L. C., Carlson, C. R., & Andrykowski, M. (2001). Posttraumatic growth following breast cancer: A controlled comparison study. Health Psychology, 20, 176–185.
Doğan, F. (2015). The mediating role of the posttraumatic growth in the relationship between posttraumatic stress and prosocial behavioral tendenci spouse. Unpublished Master's Thesis. Middle East Technical University Department of Psychology, Ankara.
Frye, J. M. (2014). The lived experience of very long-term cancer survivors: Meaning-making and meanings made (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from PsycINFO Database Record (Accession Order No. AAI3603531 ).
Helgeson, V., Reynolds, K., & Tomich, P. (2006). A meta analytic review of benefit finding and growth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 797–816.
Kaltman, S., Green, B. L., Mete, M; Shara, N., & Miranda, J. (2010). Trauma, depression, and comorbid PTSD/depression in a community sample of Latina immigrants. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2(1), 31–39.
Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2006). Growth following adversity: theoretical perspectives and implications for clinical practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 26(8), 1041–1053. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2005.12.006
O'Donnell, M., Creamer, M., Pattison, P. (2004). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Following Trauma: Understanding Comorbidity. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(8), 1390–1396.
Raboteg-Sˇaric, Z., Zˇuzˇul, M., & Kerestesˇ, G. (1994). War and children's aggressive and prosocial behavior. European Journal of Personality, 8, 210–212.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1–18.
Tedeschi, R. G., Park, C. L., & Calhoun, L. G. (Eds.). (1998). Posttraumatic Growth: Positive Changes in the Aftermath of Crisis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Tummey, R., & Turner, T. (eds.) (2008). Critical Issues in Mental Health. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Vollhardt, J. R. (2009). Altruism born of suffering and prosocial behavior following adverse life events: A review and conceptualization. Social Justice Research, 22(1), 53–97.
Read: 0
