{"id":2434,"date":"2022-03-14T16:11:31","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T16:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/?p=2434"},"modified":"2022-03-14T16:11:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T16:11:31","slug":"turning-trauma-into-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning trauma into transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turning trauma into transformation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No matter what we go through, no matter how bad things may seem, it is possible to deal with\u00a0traumatic events and emerge from them \u2013 provided we have the right support.<\/p>\n

Whatever our chosen careers, there are always people who have influenced us in the way we have\u00a0developed and grown. People whose ideas have captured our imaginations and helped shape those\u00a0careers. For me one such early mentor was Diana Whitmore. At one time married to the so called\u00a0\u2018godfather of coaching\u2019, Sir John Whitmore, she herself could justifiably lay claim to the title \u2018the godmother of coaching\u2019 but would have some ripe words for anyone trying to pin that label on her.<\/p>\n

She is, in fact, always one for direct speech. One such ripe phrase, which is highly apposite to this article is (and we\u2019ve slightly amended Diana\u2019s exact words here!) \u2018the gift in the dung\u2019. It\u2019s an idea which I\u2019ve never forgotten, and no wonder. It\u2019s a bit more pithy than the well-worn clich\u00e9 about lemons and lemonade, which is why it\u2019s probably stuck in my mind for so long. It\u2019s also an excellent starting point for this second article on ways in which we can turn around even the most traumatic events and emerge from them as better, more complete human beings.<\/p>\n

In the\u00a0last blog we looked at the concept of \u2018toxic positivity\u2019<\/a>; that while we all need to find positives in difficult experiences, how you, and others around you, react to these can be either helpful or dangerous. The classic admonition to \u2018pull yourself together\u2019 is one we all know to be unhelpful and something to be avoided. The danger in trying to be positive is that we deny the impact of what are very real and valid human reactions to sometimes impossibly tough situations. Being upbeat in the face of such situations isn\u2019t helpful because it relegates and even denigrates the very real ways we physically and psychologically react to such events. It tries to sweep them away on a tide of well-meaning but ultimately empty words of encouragement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s equally hard to imagine how any traumatic situation could possibly contain within it the seeds of a \u2018gift\u2019. Just as we might flinch from the suggestion that we just need to \u2018count our blessings\u2019, it\u2019s equally difficult to grasp just how we might be able to come to terms with a deeply upsetting event in our lives, let alone imagine that it might contain within it a \u2018gift\u2019 capable of transforming that trauma into something positive. Indeed, seen in this light, the idea of a \u2018gift in the dung\u2019 might even be judged to be as trite as \u2018pull yourself together\u2019. However, what lifts it above such trite phrases is the fundamental belief that we can, if we approach it in a sensitive and understanding way, open up a route through the darkest times and find a way to process those events in such a way that we genuinely emerge stronger and better.<\/p>\n

A \u2018gift\u2019 by any other name<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Of course, we can now give my mentor\u2019s choice phrase a more scientific name: Post Traumatic Growth. Developed by Professors Richard Tadeschi and Lawrence Calhoun, Post Traumatic Growth is defined, in its simplest terms as: \u2018positive psychological change that is experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances\u2019. It\u2019s not about being positive in the face of hideous events. Instead, it\u2019s about acknowledging just where we are, what people have been through, and then finding ways to both assimilate and genuinely understand where that negative experience has brought us to. Having done that, we then need to find ways to address those feelings in such a way that we emerge from the darkness into lighter place through our own emotional journey.<\/p>\n

Not easy? Of course it isn\u2019t. All of us hope we never have to face such challenges, but almost all of us will. We are, as they say, where we are. But if we adopt the route of positivity for its own sake we will fail both to address the real underlying issues and fail the people, who by merely doing their jobs, to the very best of their ability, have been exposed to significant levels of trauma. I talk, of course, about those in our health and social care sectors who have gone through not just one major trauma with the Covid pandemic, but repeated waves of infection. Vaccines and new treatments are all wonderful news, but we still have thousands in hospital needing around the clock care. Added to that, we now have a backlog of patients awaiting treatment for other conditions, from the cancellation of routine operations, to many with potentially life threatening illnesses. We\u2019ve hardly begun to examine the ways in which the welfare of front line staff has been impacted by the first wave of the pandemic, let alone this continued and growing demand on their professional lives.<\/p>\n

One thing for sure, they deserve better than a mere pat on the back, a smile, and some empty promises. But it\u2019s equally hard to see where the gift is in this particularly hideous pile of dung.<\/p>\n

So just how can we use the concept of Post Traumatic Growth and apply it to our post Covid world? That\u2019s going to be the subject of my next blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turning trauma into transformation No matter what we go through, no matter how bad things may seem, it is possible to deal with\u00a0traumatic events and emerge from them \u2013 provided we have the right support. Whatever our chosen careers, there are always people who have influenced us in the way we have\u00a0developed and grown. People […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nTurning trauma into transformation | Blog | TPC Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this blog Dr Andrew McDowell discusses turning trauma into transformation how it's possible to deal with trauma and emerge from it\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Turning trauma into transformation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this blog Dr Andrew McDowell discusses turning trauma into transformation how it's possible to deal with trauma and emerge from it\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TPC Health - Academy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-14T16:11:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Make Do\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Make Do\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Make Do\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/5d452fa27e854dfcbe0b2c724ccf27c2\"},\"headline\":\"Turning trauma into transformation\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-14T16:11:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/\"},\"wordCount\":916,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/\",\"name\":\"Turning trauma into transformation | Blog | TPC Health\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-14T16:11:31+00:00\",\"description\":\"In this blog Dr Andrew McDowell discusses turning trauma into transformation how it's possible to deal with trauma and emerge from it\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Turning trauma into transformation\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Turning trauma into transformation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/\",\"name\":\"TPC Health - Academy\",\"description\":\"Transforming health & wellness for everyone\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#organization\",\"name\":\"TPC Health - Academy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/TCPHealth_Linear.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/TCPHealth_Linear.png\",\"width\":7105,\"height\":1433,\"caption\":\"TPC Health - Academy\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/5d452fa27e854dfcbe0b2c724ccf27c2\",\"name\":\"Make Do\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe73597d3286e48e5f95eb7e1bd97ea091a03336686cad88ca44eadaa6287761?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe73597d3286e48e5f95eb7e1bd97ea091a03336686cad88ca44eadaa6287761?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Make Do\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/author\/tpchealthfse\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Turning trauma into transformation | Blog | TPC Health","description":"In this blog Dr Andrew McDowell discusses turning trauma into transformation how it's possible to deal with trauma and emerge from it","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Turning trauma into transformation","og_description":"In this blog Dr Andrew McDowell discusses turning trauma into transformation how it's possible to deal with trauma and emerge from it","og_url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/","og_site_name":"TPC Health - Academy","article_published_time":"2022-03-14T16:11:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Make Do","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Make Do","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/"},"author":{"name":"Make Do","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/5d452fa27e854dfcbe0b2c724ccf27c2"},"headline":"Turning trauma into transformation","datePublished":"2022-03-14T16:11:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/"},"wordCount":916,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/","url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/","name":"Turning trauma into transformation | Blog | TPC Health","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png","datePublished":"2022-03-14T16:11:31+00:00","description":"In this blog Dr Andrew McDowell discusses turning trauma into transformation how it's possible to deal with trauma and emerge from it","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/03\/Turning-trauma-into-transformation.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Turning trauma into transformation"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/2022\/03\/14\/turning-trauma-into-transformation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Turning trauma into transformation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/","name":"TPC Health - Academy","description":"Transforming health & wellness for everyone","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#organization","name":"TPC Health - Academy","url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/TCPHealth_Linear.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/TCPHealth_Linear.png","width":7105,"height":1433,"caption":"TPC Health - Academy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/5d452fa27e854dfcbe0b2c724ccf27c2","name":"Make Do","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe73597d3286e48e5f95eb7e1bd97ea091a03336686cad88ca44eadaa6287761?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe73597d3286e48e5f95eb7e1bd97ea091a03336686cad88ca44eadaa6287761?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Make Do"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tpchealth.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/blog\/author\/tpchealthfse\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tpchealth.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}