Studying the positive side of trauma and grief by Stacey Burling
One of the first things you notice about Judy Bernstein is how easily, how freely, she laughs.
Her obvious zest is all the more striking when you hear about the trials in her life.
Her father died in a plane crash when she was 21. Her brother-in-law was killed crossing Broad Street. Her sister died in a car crash.
In 2001, Bernstein learned she had lymphoma. Since then, doctors have diagnosed six other cancers: breast, thyroid, skin, esophageal, and two kinds of lung.
Bernstein, 68, always understood how fleeting life could be, but she credits her close personal relationship with cancer with making her stronger and more spiritual, giving, and tolerant - with making her a better person.
"Something good comes from everything," said Bernstein, whose cancers have been manageable. "You just have to know where to look or how to look."
Bernstein is an example of what psychologists call posttraumatic growth (PTG), the lesser-known sibling of post-traumatic stress disorder.
While the more dramatic PTSD has gotten far more publicity, a cadre of researchers has been studying the positive side of trauma and grief: that most people bounce back to baseline, and some emerge from disaster stronger and better, at least in some ways.
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