Do we actually grow from adversity?

a ost by Eranda Jayawickreme and Frank J. Infurna for the Big Think blog

"That which does not kill us, makes us stronger"?


How much people believe they’ve changed often isn’t associated with how much they’ve actually changed. frankie's/Shutterstock.com

In our culture, there's this idea that enduring a tragedy can be good for your personal growth. You'll have a newfound appreciation for life.

You'll be grateful for your friends and family. You'll learn from the experience. You'll become more resilient.

This theme appears in media coverage, time and again, in the wake of natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

But what does the science say?

Is there actually value in pain and suffering? Was philosopher Frederich Nietzsche onto something when he said, “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger"?

A powerful narrative

As psychologists, we've been studying this question for the better part of the last decade.

We're not the first to grapple with these questions. Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun have written about how, after experiencing loss or trauma, people reported feeling a greater appreciation for life, closer to their friends and family, stronger, more spiritual and more inspired. They dubbed this phenomenon “post-traumatic growth."

The appeal of this finding is obvious. It shows there's a silver lining to tragedy. It's also consistent with the biblical theme of redemption, which says that all pain and suffering will ultimately lead to freedom.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Research Watch: can adversity make you stronger?

an articvle by Sue Holttu, (Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK) published in Mental Health and Social Inclusion Volume 23 Issue 2 (2019)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine what helps people come through difficult events and circumstances.

Design/methodology/approach
A search was carried out for recent papers on adversity and thriving.

Findings
One paper reviewed 27 studies of coping and wellbeing after adversities. Maybe some kinds of adversity can help us get stronger, but people’s social contexts were not considered and the studies measured different things that may not be as easily compared as first appears. A second paper examined wellbeing at work, and reported that a certain type of supervisor is important for preventing burnout. The final paper reported on 55 people who survived depression. Many (though not all) participants felt their life was better than before. Surviving was assisted by practical and social support rather than pills.

Originality/value
The review of research on adversity highlights that patterns of data may look similar but may not tell us as much as we hoped. The study of workplace thriving highlighted how supervisors might support people to do their best work while preventing burnout. The study on surviving depression suggested that social resources were key to a good outcome and a better life. Social inclusion is likely to be important.

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