Going Through Post-Traumatic Growth During This Pandemic
It is a struggle to grow when the world is trying to push you down.
Working from home and staying home has had a large effect on most people. It has been difficult to keep a balanced work-life while at home.
I still have been working in an office, but not felt the extremes that many have had to go through this year. I have not had the isolation that they have been feeling. I get to go to work four days a week and socialize with people.
Along with that, I still have to go grocery shopping and a few other places. I have been lucky, though, to be in the position that I am in — young and healthy.
I do not have to worry about COVID the same way others do, like my grandma. She is the only grandparent I have left, and for this whole past year, she has stayed home. My parents would do her shopping for her and get her anything she wanted.
She would talk on the phone to her friends, but that is not the same as spending time with them. For Christmas, we had stayed home for two weeks to see her and spend time with her. She was so happy, but that did not stop her from complaining about how she could not do her own Christmas shopping this year and how much she hated staying home.
Luckily, for her, a month later, she was able to get the vaccine, and she has been making up for it in every way possible.
Of course, the pandemic has affected all our lives in significant ways, most obviously the understandable and substantial negative impact it has placed on our mental health, which we know has been acute for very many. But that is not the full story. People have also gained positive effects from leading their lives in quieter, slower ways because of lockdowns.
8% described growth in family relationships.
16% described spiritual growth, which involved a greater engagement with fundamental, existential issues. This included a greater appreciation for others, a stronger sense of community, and environmental benefits.
11% described discovering and embracing new opportunities and possibilities, reflected in comments about changes in working practice. Involving positive’ changes in attitudes to home working’ and adopting a ‘better work/life balance’.
Nurses during the pandemic have had it really hard. They have had to witness so much death and feelings of hopelessness and feel as if there’s nothing else they can do to help. There has been some good things to come from when they save lives.
By saving lives and improving patient outcomes, healthcare personnel can also develop post-traumatic growth. Studies on medical rescue personnel have indicated that resilience, active coping strategies, planning, religion, seeking emotional and instrumental support, and self‐distraction abilities are positively associated with post-traumatic growth.
Although the medical field has been going through it for the past year, they are still surviving and growing stronger through this pandemic. It is hard on their mental health, but they have ways to deal with it and have to look on the brighter side of life. They did save that day, which made it longer who at least got to say goodbye to their loved ones.
Burnout is a psychological syndrome involving emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a feeling of reduced personal accomplishment. The consequences of burnout are dangerous to nurses, patients, and healthcare institutions. Burnout can degrade the quality of care or service provided by the nursing staff.
This is something that nurses and doctors have been struggling with for the past year with a sense of hopelessness with respect to how many people they have been losing.
They continue to fight, though, and try to save everyone they can but keep feeling hopelessness from those they are losing. This year, though, many people have risen above and grew more substantial from the pandemic.
Post-traumatic growth entails ‘positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances. Personality dynamics and trauma characteristics can lead to post-traumatic growth and spirituality; moreover, social support and opportunities for emotional disclosure can buffer against mental illness and stress response.
Post-traumatic growth is something most people have had to learn how to handle this year. It has been traumatic, but we have to grow through these times of difficulty. Our lives were not put on hold for a year. As humans grow and change every day, changing through the trauma of last year was hard.
Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed it!
