Post-Traumatic Growth is the positive personal transformation that takes place after a traumatic experience, once one has processed the trauma and done the work of healing from it.
What we do in the aftermath of a traumatic experience and the meaning we make from the experience can have a huge impact on our potential for healing, emotional freedom, and growth. During the post-trauma phase, we may discover strength and resilience we didn't realize we had. We may develop the skills to distinguish healthy individuals and relationships from toxic ones and determine that we will no longer accept disrespectful and dishonoring behavior. We may finally learn to set appropriate boundaries with others, particularly those prone to steamroll over us. We may gain a new awareness of what matters most to us and the determination to live our lives in alignment with our core values.
Please note that this valuable growth doesn't negate or eliminate the need to work through our trauma and process our pain. To process the pain, we need to let it in, acknowledge it, feel it, and allow it to pass through us. There is a time to work through the pain and the trauma. But after we've done the work, we can use our experience to move us forward. That is the magic of post-traumatic growth.