Summary: Trauma and tragedy challenge how perceive yourself others and the world. But does everyone who’s traumatized end up struggling with post-traumatic stress symptoms for years afterward? A recent study in Detroit shed interesting light on the answer to this question. As you may have heard, Detroit is a city in pain. With high crime and a crashing budget many people have survived or witnessed events that threatened their lives or the lives of others. After extensive interviews the data reported that 90% of those exposed to trauma moved forward without effects; 10% developed PTSD. If you, like me, are one of the 10% in your world who developed PTSD you might look at those statistics and ask, “What does that have to do with my life?” And in a sense you’d be right: Who cares about the other 90% when you’re overwhelmed with how to cope with staggering depression, insomnia, flashbacks, anger, mood swings and a relentless, unstoppable anxiety? Except, you should care. There are things we can learn from those who move forward after trauma. While our paths to peace may be more long and tortuous than others what we learn from the statistics is the great possibility for human resilience. My guest today, Bill O’Hanlon, shared the details of the study and ideas for what the results mean - and how they apply to your recovery - with me in our live interview today. Then, he went on to outline his top three strategies for how to thrive after trauma. In addition to the strategies (all of which you can begin applying today – they’re free!) our discussion also covered: Can PTSD be healed? What is posttraumatic growth and how do we achieve it? How to define trauma to someone who’s never experienced it. The difference between posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic success. Throughout the conversation Bill shared many stories to illustrate his points, including his own story as a childhood trauma survivor who overcame the past and has gone on to create a terrific present and future. MEET MY GUEST Bill O'Hanlon, MS, LMFT, has authored or co-authored 36 books, the latest being Out of the Blue: Six Non-Medication Ways to Relieve Depression (W.W. Norton, April 2014). He has written several books on trauma, A Quick Guide to Resolving Trauma and Even From a Broken Web, also from W.W. Norton and Thriving Through Crisis: Turning Tragedy and Trauma Into Growth and Change, published by Penguin. He has published over 60 articles or book chapters. His books have been translated into 16 languages. He has appeared on Oprah (with his book Do One Thing Different), The Today Show, and a variety of other television and radio programs. Since 1977, Bill has given over 3000 talks around the world. Bill is a Licensed Mental Health Professional, Certified Professional Counselor, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
