Path to Resiliency Via Post Traumatic Growth (PTG)

Because I learned about resilience in the context of my personal and

business life, it is natural to start writing about my lessons in the context of

that story. Originally, I expected my story to serve as a case study, illustrating

principles of resilience. I thought of my story as a context for the information.

As the book evolved, however, it became clear to me that my story is

more than a case study; it has its own significance. This doesn’t change the

relevance and applicability of what I’ve learned, but it does call for some

explanation.

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As I wrote about my journey toward greater resilience, I was struck by

the length, intensity, and excruciating pain of it. Although principles of

resilience can be grasped cognitively, I didn’t learn them that way.

I learned them by working my way through a double trauma. A slow learner, I

needed repeat lessons and a lot of help along the way.

It turns out I learned about resilience in the context of a phenomenon

called post-traumatic growth (PTG).

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The term, coined by Richard G. Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence G. Calhoun, PhD, in

the mid-1990s, describes the “positive personal transformations that can occur in

the aftermath of trauma.” It’s important to note that PTG is not the opposite of

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is an official medical diagnosis. (I’m

not an expert in PTSD and don’t plan to address it in this book.)

For our purposes, it’s enough to note that some people who experience

PTSD experience PTG. Some do not. At the same time, people who don’t meet

the criteria for PTSD, or who haven’t been screened for it, often experience

PTG. I’ve never been screened for PTSD but I have experienced PTG.

Think of PTG as exceptional growth, even a whole reordering of life,

in the aftermath of trauma. It’s a big deal.

Not everyone is a candidate for PTG, no matter how big the trauma they

experience. In fact, the more resilient the person, the less likely that person

is to experience PTG. My particular attitudes and skill deficits positioned

me to experience PTG in ways people with greater resilience could not.

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Here is how it works: Most people who experience trauma recover

naturally. It’s part of the human DNA to bounce back. Without this ability,

we wouldn’t survive as a species. Individuals with greater resilience than I

would certainly have suffered in the aftermath of the same traumas, but they

would also have rebounded much more quickly. The changes they experienced

in the process would not have been as profound and life-altering.

To be a candidate for this life-altering kind of growth, the aftermath of

the trauma must be experienced as a type of “psychological earthquake,” a

seismic shift to how the person understands and lives in the world.

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Here’s an explanation provided by Tedeschi and his co-author Bret A. Moore,

PsyD, ABPP, in Transformed by Trauma:

"When our long-held beliefs about how life is 'supposed to be' no

longer work for us, we create new ones that incorporate the entirety of

our experiences. And then, as we grow, we take the lessons we’ve learned

and set out to help others. This philosophy and approach to trauma and

life is called posttraumatic growth."

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The authors emphasize PTG isn’t about “turning ‘lemons into lemonade,’

or any other platitude. Nor is it a celebration of trauma. PTG describes

transformation that results from struggle, an intense inner battle to find

sense and meaning in the world again. There’s nothing to celebrate in the

trauma that starts the struggle.”

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The outcome of PTG is not unmitigated happiness. It’s more like living

into a deeper meaning in life. As new understandings and growth occur, a

person experiencing PTG is on a path to resilience. It’s never a destination.

It’s walking along an ever-enriching but lifelong path.

I’ll share more about PTG as the book unfolds. I’m introducing the

concept now to provide context for what you will read in the following pages.

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As you read my story, chances are you will, at times, be surprised at how

my expectations were so off base and how my responses were so unhealthy.

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You may also be surprised at how long and how excruciating my journey

to recovery was. My deep-rooted beliefs of how I needed to be in the world

had me in a chokehold. Be patient with me, understanding I’m sharing my

experience of profound growth forged out of great struggle. I now see the

world differently and continue to build what experts refer to as “hardiness”

to be ready when the next life upset appears.

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Excerpt from Reluctantly Resilient: One CEO’s Journey to Thriving in Leadership and Life by Chrissy Myers