If you listen to the news, life can look pretty grim at times.  Most of us have encountered and moved through our own grim circumstance.  At the time, you may feel as though it's all you can do to get through your day (or a sleepless night). With time, the stress or pain associated with the difficult situation will likely ease, only to resurface when triggered by a thought, memory or event.  Strength and personal growth are a probable consequence.  Down the road, it may even be possible to find some gratitude in some aspect of it.  We now have a term for this process.  Keep reading.

You've likely heard of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but do you know about posttraumatic growth (PTG)?  I heard this term for the first time when attending a recent presentation featuring Scarlett Lewis whose 6 year-old son, Jessie, was murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

PTG is a positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with a traumatic event or a major life crisis.  Ever had one of those?  

The term, PTG, was coined in 1995 by Dr. Richard Tedeschi, a psychology professor at the University of North Carolina and co-author of the handbook Post Traumatic Growth.  If you care to take a "Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory", click here. 

Individuals with PTG tend to experience change in 5 general areas:

• New opportunities and possibilities emerge.
• New relationships develop; or current relationships change, often becoming closer.
• One's sense of personal strength increases.
• Appreciation for life is enhanced.
• A deeper spiritual connection is found and/or a change in one's belief system.

Despite the circumstances, there is always something to be grateful for.
I challenge you to:

• Pause briefly each day (at least once). 
• Inhale as you say to yourself: "I am thankful". 
• Slowly exhale as you say to yourself "Grateful for ___________". 
• Use your next breath to breathe in that sense of gratitude. 
• Allow it to fill your heart space. 
• Then exhale slowly, letting it spread throughout your body.
• Do it again as you remind yourself to drop your shoulders and jaw.