Grow From Your Experience

Experiences associated with feelings of being stuck and job stress and other forms of suffering can be great teachers. In her research, Dr. Regedanz has found that recovery from job burnout can have positive benefits for recoverees. This kind of growth fits with the psychological concept of posttraumatic growth.

In their book on posttraumatic growth, Tedeschi and Calhoun (42References) discuss “the experience of personal growth or strengthening that often occurs in persons who have faced traumatic events” (p. ix). There are three broad categories (43References) that capture the way people change as a result of this growth. These categories are reflected in the results of Dr. Regedanz’s research:

Posttraumatic Growth Categories	How this shows up in Burnout Recovery
Changed sense of self	Empowerment (recoverees discovered the ability to act, make choices and assume accountability), experienced an increase in success and confidence
Changed relationships	Relationship change
Changed philosophy of life	Shift in meaning (personal meaning was highly valued and was reflected in desire to help others and make contributions to teams)

If you are ready learn how to grow from the experiences that have challenged you, call Dr. Regedanz for a phone consultation.