POSITIVE WAY TO HEAL YOURSELF – POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH THERAPY

By Nidhi Aswal

UNDERSTANDING POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH

Posttraumatic growth can take many forms, including tremendous respect for life, increased personal resilience, strengthened interpersonal relationships, a shift in life values, meaningful moral improvements, or the discovery of new meaning and intention in life.

PTG (posttraumatic growth) is a hypothesis that describes this sort of transition after a traumatic experience. It was created in the mid-1990s by psychologists Tedeschi and Calhoun and claimed that people who face psychological difficulties resulting from trauma frequently experience positive development.

FEEL IT TO HEAL IT

We are always advised to concentrate on ourselves when we experience emotional distress, but this can be said far better than achieved. When it feels like the world’s weight is on your back, it isn’t easy to find even the courage to raise your leg and start placing one foot in front of the other.

In an attempt to encourage posttraumatic growth, it is essential not to underestimate the trauma’s effect. This isn’t always the consequence for people who have undergone trauma, and it’s important not to suggest any weakness or diminish the trauma effect. Both can happen simultaneously. 

Posttraumatic growth can be seen as both a result and a mechanism. It’s about maintaining a sense of optimism that not only can a person who has undergone trauma survive, but as a result, they will also undergo positive life changes.

FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERINGS 

No one looks forward to the sorrow, but it’s unavoidable that at some stage in this life, you’ll experience pain and misery. When you find yourself dealing with stress, sorrow, or discomfort, note that you have the power not only to overcome the challenges before you but, as a consequence, rebuild yourself to become a stronger and more purpose-driven person.

Most of us have at least one traumatic memory embedded in our brains. Fortunately, recent studies from affective neuroscience can help people recover from painful experiences that can lead to PTSD, depression, bipolar, and even Alzheimer’s disease. We learn one of the things about memories that are critically important: although the brain is particularly good at recording bad memories, it is not permanently locked in the memory banks of the brain, as we once thought.

It’s important to uphold the “keep it easy” concept when you start your healing journey, to avoid exhaustion, disappointment, or the temptation to give up entirely. With that in mind, here are the basic but essential healing steps: 

1. ALWAYS BE EAGER TO RECOVER

Your best buddy on the path to recovery is the drive to feel better. Don’t surrender to the ego, which will continue to convince you that there’s something wrong with yourself and you are responsible for your pain. The experiences that you undergo due to trauma are only expressions that are not who you are.

2. DON’T DELAY TO CONTACT A PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST

You may want to attend individual or group counseling, seek professional advice and support from someone skilled in emotional distress who you feel comfortable with and optimistic about, but you hesitate to take the next step. Find a mental health professional near your place without any further delay who can help you with the treatments that concentrate on education, stress reduction techniques, releasing memories from the body, and suppressing emotions that trigger physical and psychological pain.   

3. PRACTICE MEDITATION AND BREATHING EXERCISE

Many researchers have concluded that meditation is one of the most important ways to cope with traumatic events. All healthy options include deep breathing, gentle stretching, and walking. 

Deep breathing or concentrating on the inhalation and exhalation will help to calm the mind and relax. Focus your mind on breathing or body parts when you’re meditating. It can prevent your brain from focusing on stress. 

Meditation manages to silence the mental turmoil, enabling you to feel deeper understanding, gratitude, and a good life affinity. Emotional distress is accumulated in the body, and, in addition to the counseling process, the body nurtures itself beautifully from breathing consciously and cultivating its practice.

4. STAY AWAY FROM ADDICTION

Getting into alcohol and drugs to distress can worsen your condition. Some people want to go through the pain of a stressful experience to put on sleep or take off the pressure. We try to dull the feelings or forget about things. It can feel like it works in the short term, but in the long run, it can harm. The concern is that if the stress persists, alcohol (or drugs) may continue. That may cause mental and physical problems in the long run. 

5. DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY 

Do stuff that will make you happy. Take a hot shower or doodling can work as art therapy. Work towards a regular sleep routine where you go to bed and wake up in a comfortable, dark, quiet room at around the same time each evening. Read good books. Take it out for colleagues. Go and have a pleasant stroll. Look at a ball game. Go for a match. Whatever makes you feel good, you should take your time to reward yourself.

6. BE A GOAL-DRIVEN PERSON

One traumatic incident can disrupt daily life. One goal for those who want to get through the pain of trauma is to return as soon as possible to a routine. Having your groove back will help you restore a sense of normality and control of your life.

Strengthen family, friendly and civic ties. Reassess personal goals and build a strategy to attain them. Volunteer and give the charity a little more. All these things will help to overcome traumatic stress.

Think about what you’ve gained from these impediments and how you can use this experience to support yourself and others or construct something of personal or societal interest.