Don’t let distress sideline you. Turn it into a strength instead.
WHEN ARMY SURGEON Rhonda Cornum regained consciousness after her helicopter crashed, she looked up to see five Iraqi soldiers pointing rifles at her. It was 1991, and her Black Hawk had been shot down over the Iraqi desert. Dazed from blood loss, with a busted knee, two broken arms, and a bullet in her shoulder, the then-36-year-old medic was subjected to a mock execution by her captors, sexually assaulted, and held prisoner for a week.
Her crisis included textbook causes for post-traumatic stress: a near-death experience, sexual assault, utter helplessness. And yet, after her release and medical rehabilitation, she surprised psychiatrists by focusing on ways she’d improved. “I became a better doctor, a better parent, a better commander, probably a better person,” she says.
Cornum’s experience is far from unique. The term post-traumatic growth, coined by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, describes the surprising benefits many survivors discover in the process of healing from a traumatic event. After counseling cancer survivors, the bereaved, the severely injured, veterans, and prisoners, the researchers found growth in five main areas: personal strength, relationships with others, perspective on life, appreciation of life, and spirituality.
この記事は Reader's Digest US の June 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Reader's Digest US の June 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar
Who can benefit from this wearable technology
A Flag for Dad
An old sailor made a last wish. His son was determined to see that it came true.
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Yes, There's a Museum for That!
These collections are wacky, wonderful and worth a visit
Town Meeting Is Called!
Once a year, the people of Elmore, Vermont, gather to practice a cherished right: democracy
Just Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, a desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
Election Day Memories
Stories about voting by the people, for the people
WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Twice a year, when we spring ahead and fall back, we're more prone to sleepiness, depression and accidents
MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS
The run-up to the holidays doesn't have to bah-humbug your budget. A shopping expert shares strategies for saving big now and all year round.