I recently participated in a five day mental health conference, sponsored by Life Above, with a number of mental health practitioners. I was asked to share on Post Traumatic Spiritual Growth from a pastoral perspective.

You might be able to catch the interview online here, but I’m also posting highlights from the interview here on my website over the next two weeks. I hope you find them helpful.

I was interviewed by Marie Woods, the director of Life Above. Here’s the interview…

Can we start with a little background on your career?

I was an associate pastor for about ten years. Then I started a church that I led for another twenty years. During that time I also was the spirituality advisor at an addiction treatment center. Those two roles helped me to write six books on how to overcome various issues like, shame, anger, and loss with God’s help. In my most recent book, Broken Trust, I help people recover from spiritual abuse.

What is it that you want to talk about today?

I want to talk about Post Traumatic Spiritual Growth.

Post Traumatic Spiritual Growth. What is that?

Post Traumatic Growth, in general, is where a person goes through a traumatic experience but is able to reframe it in a way that causes a positive change in their life; giving them new insights, new strength and appreciation for life. 

Post Traumatic SPIRITUAL Growth adds a spiritual element. A person feels like God is the source of this change and they feel closer to God as a result of it. 

Why is this an important topic to you?

I’ve seen so many people experience trauma and they aren’t able to bounce back. It’s like something gets broken inside of them. At least, that’s what they think. So their focus turns inward and they can’t seem to recover. 

But if people can reframe their loss and see things from God’s perspective, they can often experience a dramatic change. It can be a breakthrough for them.

What do you mean by “something gets broken”?

Well, maybe you’ve heard of Seligman’s three P’s of pessimism. When people experience trauma it’s easy to take it personally, and see the problem as pervasive and permanent.

Can you break those down for us? 

First, it’s personal.

We might think the trauma happened to us because there’s something about us that is inherently wrong. It’s like we attracted bad things into our lives. We might have felt insecure or worthless before the trauma but then the trauma only confirmed it. The trauma convinces us that we are destined to fail. WE didn’t fail. Others didn’t fail us. WE ARE a failure.

So that’s the first p. It’s personal.

The second P is pervasive.

That means that we see the trauma as impacting every aspect of our lives. Everything is ruined. There’s nothing good about our lives due to the trauma. Nothing can be salvaged. There is no bright side. There’s no silver lining. The trauma was devastating.

The third P is permanent.

In other words, there’s nothing that will change. There is no recourse. No fix. The trauma has affected everything and it will always be that way. Life will never be good again.

So, how do you see these three P’s affecting people?

I used to see it a lot in the treatment center. Many people turned to drugs and alcohol because they had experienced some kind of abuse or trauma. The three P’s made them feel helpless and hopeless so they just tried to numb their pain. And there are many ways that people numb their pain besides drugs and alcohol.

I’ve also seen it in people coming out of spiritual abuse. The church or cult that they were a part of scarred them so deeply that it’s all they can think about or talk about. They keep rehashing the events in their mind and they can’t get back to a good place spiritually. 

I think this is true for any kind of abuse. People feel so broken. The abuse is so denigrating. It’s like it damages your soul and as a result people spend years just wandering emotionally and spiritually, never finding any traction.

What is the hope for people like this?

When I read the Bible, it seems like God is constantly helping people recover from trauma. I mean, think of David. King Saul tried to kill him for years. That had to come with some trauma. But David overcame that to become the king himself. 

Or the apostle Paul, he talked about having a thorn in his flesh. We don’t know what that was but it sounds traumatic… a chronic pain or problem that plagued him daily.  Paul said that God used that thorn to show him that in his weakness God would make him strong. 

And of course, the centerpiece of God’s story is the death of Jesus and his resurrection. Nothing is more traumatic than crucifixion and death, but Jesus overcame it. The Bible almost shouts that God wants us to believe in post-traumatic growth. God wants us to rise above our setbacks.

To be continued…

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