Psychologists have long studied resilience— the ability to bounce back and move on. But post-traumatic growth, which has been documented in hundreds of studies, is different; it’s what happens when trauma changes and deepens life’s meaning – not everyone experiences growth after trauma. In recent years, psychologists have studied survivors of cancer, war, and terrorist attacks and found that certain traits increase its likelihood, such as optimism, extroversion, and openness to new experience.
