Feb

3

We have all heard of PTSS, but a well known response to trauma is substantial growth or PTGS. Those that espouse Post Traumatic Growth syndrome, believe great growth happens in the majority of the cases. But like the spectacular fall colors, which people drive by without noticing, it is too predictably common. It was only more recently that people started realizing that studying this growth may help more people achieve this growth and those that achieved some growth to grow more.

My layman’s thoughts on studying this may be more applicable to trading. This article and this excerpt from a book will explain the phenomenon better than I could. After reading the testimony of my younger brother, an MIT grad, on why and how he built a multimillion dollar charity, I realized that what we had gone through in childhood was pretty traumatic. I found myself asking a question that my Uncle asked me at my Grandmother’s funeral, “Why are Andrew and you overachievers?” And while there really is no one answer, I would have to say part of it would be our growth after trauma. If I gave you the details, you might think I'd blame someone, or that I'd blamed everyone. But I've learned that blame is a path to destruction and others owning you. But I also won't give you the details because they can't be really explained– unless you've lived them you don't understand them. You don't see how close a call the choice between, the blame and victim-hood; or forgiveness and empowerment; really was. This, I believe, could have some deep negative implications for the current crisis.

Clearly poverty had its hand in my families trauma. My Dad was smart and impressive enough to get jobs but he could not maintain them. We moved from small town to small town until we made a fateful move into Kansas City Missouri. Here eventually my Dad was to land a solid job at the US Post Office. Coming from humble small town background, my parents were incredibly naive about the “big city”. Like Scott will tell you about St. Louis, the other big city in Missouri, Kansas City was a rough town, getting rougher as it rusted in the late 70 and 80s. My parents moved us in a tough part of town. I learned to avoid people, but my younger brothers would find abuse and trouble by the beginning of elementary school. Several of the ones that were loyal to each other would end up spending time in prison. A few like him learned to grow after leaving home.

There is some controversy over PTGS. We know that stress can make you stronger. There are those that would say that this is just a scalable factor of strength through the recovery process. But I would disagree in 4 significant ways. First, there is something about facing a total loss that makes you appreciate the little things in life. The hug of a child, a cool drink of water, the sun on your back and the wink from your spouse all gain their place amongst the size of your balance sheet and your position of power. It may be you discover your childhood ideals again. It may be you see the failure of the dinosaurs to adapt. It may be that you discover that David can beat Goliath. It may be those giants are recognized as only one niche strategy. It may be that the flowers grow back first before the trees. Facing trauma can give you new assumptions, new goals and new insights into where you fit in the world. Seeing the trauma of Wall Street's great minds, great organizers and great leaders, I can't help but wonder how many IBMs, Googles, or Walmarts will soon be birthed. And how the small will be favored over the large bureaucracy. Second, trauma often is a lesson in the strength of avoiding panic. The “miracle on the Hudson” seems to confirm. It is also a lesson in what constitutes a crisis. Trauma survivors can have a difficult time believing what others are willing to fret and worry and run around in a panic over. Losses rarely mean there is no hope. Third, they realize there is great gain in the effort. Some of the most entrepreneurial friends I know are soldiers. They are not afraid of failure. They are deeply afraid of not trying or of giving-up. They have seen those that lost, lose it all. However if soldiers tried, if they kept the faith, they did not fail and will not lose the war. 

For the last 4 years I have run the Memorial Marathon in Oklahoma City. From this I’ve seen how giving your best effort is a form of bereavement, to honor those innocent lives taken. You live your best, as you are living for them also. The fourth reason is the impossible becomes possible. The deep philosophical questions are asked, in times of crisis and the answer is often “all things are possible.” Some will see it in a vision; some will feel it in a near death out of body experience, some have felt or heard God’s answer to a prayer. Others like the POW's or Holocaust survivors have been given the strength to carry on. What was once a limit, an impenetrable wall, is seen as the “sword in the stone”, waiting for the right person to try. I’ve learned from the Kenyans I’ve raced against, the impossible is only achieved by those that don’t know it is impossible. But this is not the naive, magical mysticism of "the J#sus wants you to be rich", televangelist nor the 70 virgins suicide murderers. This is the reality of herculean strength coming from heroic effort. It is a deep belief in themselves, and the responsibility that ensue as it is a faith of God. The path down madness will always seem clear, but the path to life and growth can come from billions of unseen spontaneous generated seeds.


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7 Comments so far

  1. legacy daily on February 3, 2009 6:19 pm

    Excellent article with a ton of food for thought. Thank you very much indeed for sharing.

  2. Chris Culp on February 3, 2009 8:05 pm

    Inspiring, indeed.

  3. Gary Rogan on February 4, 2009 9:41 pm

    Whatever doesn’t break you, will only make you stronger. But some things will break you.

  4. Mark on February 5, 2009 3:11 pm

    An interesting article in the same line of thought "Deep Survival, who lives who dies and why" written by Laurence gonzales these 12 survival techniques are most definately appropriate for these times of struggle for many.

    The 12 Rules of Survival Laurence Gonzales, Based on his book Deep Survival (W.W. Norton & Co.)

    As a journalist, I've been writing about accidents for more than thirty years. In the last 15 or so years, I've concentrated on accidents in outdoor recreation, in an effort to understand who lives, who dies, and why. To my surprise, I found an eerie uniformity in the way people survive seemingly impossible circumstances. Decades and sometimes centuries apart, separated by culture, geography, race, language, and tradition, the most successful survivors–those who practice what I call “deep survival”–go through the same patterns of thought and behavior, the same transformation and spiritual discovery, in the course of keeping themselves alive. Not only that but it doesn't seem to matter whether they are surviving being lost in the wilderness or battling cancer, whether they're struggling through divorce or facing a business catastrophe–the strategies remain the same.

    Survival should be thought of as a journey, a vision quest of the sort that Native Americans have had as a rite of passage for thousands of years. Once you're past the precipitating event–you're cast away at sea or told you have cancer–you have been enrolled in one of the oldest schools in history. Here are a few things I've learned that can help you pass the final exam.

    1. Perceive and Believe
    Don't fall into the deadly trap of denial or of immobilizing fear. Admit it: You're really in trouble and you're going to have to get yourself out.[…] 

    2. Stay Calm – Use Your Anger
    In the initial crisis, survivors are not ruled by fear; instead, they make use of it. Their fear often feels like (and turns into) anger, which motivates them and makes them feel sharper. […]

    3. Think, Analyze, and Plan
    Survivors quickly organize, set up routines, and institute discipline. […]

    4. Take Correct, Decisive Action
    Survivors are willing to take risks to save themselves and others. But they are simultaneously bold and cautious in what they will do. […] They handle what is within their power to deal with from moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day.

    5. Celebrate your success
    Survivors take great joy from even their smallest successes. This helps keep motivation high and prevents a lethal plunge into hopelessness. […]Viktor Frankl put it this way: “Don't aim at success–the more you aim at it and make it a target,the more you are going to miss it.” […]

    7. Enjoy the Survival Journey
    It may seem counterintuitive, but even in the worst circumstances, survivors find something to enjoy, some way to play and laugh. Survival can be tedious, and waiting itself is an art. 

    8. See the Beauty
    Survivors are attuned to the wonder of their world, especially in the face of mortal danger. The appreciation of beauty, the feeling of awe, opens the senses to the environment. (When you see something beautiful, your pupils actually dilate.) Debbie Kiley and four others were adrift in the Atlantic after their boat sank in a hurricane in 1982. They had no supplies, no water, and would die without rescue. Two of the crew members drank sea water and went mad. When one of them jumped overboard and was being eaten by sharks directly under their dinghy, Kiley felt as if she, too, were going mad, and told herself, “Focus on the sky, on the beauty there.”

    When Saint-Exupery's plane went down in the Lybian Desert, he was certain that he was doomed, but he carried on in this spirit: “Here we are, condemned to death, and still the certainty of dying cannot compare with the pleasure I am feeling. The joy I take from this half an orange which I am holding in my hand is one of the greatest joys I have ever known.” At no time did he stop to bemoan his fate, or if he did, it was only to laugh at himself.

    9. Believe That You Will Succeed
    It is at this point, following what I call “the vision,” that the survivor's will to live becomes firmly fixed.[…]

    11. Do Whatever Is Necessary […].

    12. Never Give Up
    […] If you're still alive, there is always one more thing that you can do.

    Survivors are not easily discouraged by setbacks. […]

    © 2005 Laurence Gonzales Reprinted by permission of the author. All rights reserved.

    Laurence Gonzales is the author of Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why (W.W. Norton & Co., New York) and contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure magazine. The winner of numerous awards, he has written for Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly, Conde Nast Traveler, Rolling Stone, among others. He has published a dozen books, including two award-winning collections of essays, three novels, and the book-length essay, One Zero Charlie published by Simon & Schuster. For more, go to www.deepsurvival.com.

  5. Philip Larcombe on February 9, 2009 7:20 pm

    Every adversity.

  6. Angela Scott on October 12, 2009 11:16 pm

    Recently I read an article in the November/December issue of AARP addressing "Post-Traumatic Growth Syndrome." Curious to read more, I found your website.

    I've been told I am experiencing a mid-life crisis because I'm much different now than prior to my husband's receiving a heart transplant in August 2005. If they really knew the whole story, they still wouldn't understand why I do what I do. My daily question is "Will I regret this if I don't pursue _____?

    Perhaps we can talk more about this subject.

  7. DAVID CLAIBORNE on October 25, 2009 8:19 am

    I AGREE WITH MR. SEARS COMMENTS OF PTSG BUT HE FAILS TO MENTION WHERE THIS IS MOST PREVALENT— IN THE MILITARYL MANY OF THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE COME THROUGH THE FIRES OF WAREFARE/COMBAT RETURN BETTER PEOPLE, MORE CENTERED, CONFIDENT, AWARE, BETTER LEADERS AND CLOSER TO THEIR GOD.

    UNFORTUNATELY THE PRESS STRESSES PTSD, THEY SHOULD WRITE ABOUT THE MANY, MANY MORE PEOPLE WHO RETURN WITH PTSG.

    DAVID

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