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Positive psychology
VARIOUS philosophies, literatures and religions throughout history have conveyed the idea that there is personal gain to be found in suffering (Linley, in press). Although much evidence has been accumulated for post-traumatic stress in survivors of various traumatic events (e.g. Joseph et al., 1997), there is also a growing body of empirical evidence that trauma can provide the impetus for personal and social transformation (see Tedeschi et al., 1998, for a review).
For example, in some early work with survivors of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster we found that 46 per cent of people said that their view of life had changed for the worse. But 43 per cent said it had changed for the better, saying things like 'I don't take life for granted anymore', 'I value my family and friends much more now' and 'I live every day to the full now' (Joseph et al., 1993). In the last few years we have begun to turn our attention to this new question (see Linley & Joseph, 2002): Why is it that some people are able to grow and thrive as a result of traumatic experience, achieving a higher level of functioning and self-actualisation than they enjoyed before the trauma?
Positive changes
It...