How we deal with breavement and PTSD

According to New Scientist, research is focusing on what happens in our brain when someone close to us dies.

The bottom line of Bonanno, a clinical psychologist at Columbia University in New York is "that people are often much more resilient than we're led to believe". This is confirmed by studies of Londoners after the Blitz and New Yorkers after 9/11 which showed that few people suffer serious reactions to traumatic events.

This stands in contrast to the average of 8% of people that develop PTSD, which according to Wikipedia follow after events such as violent assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, torture, being a hostage, prisoner of war or concentration camp victim, experiencing a disaster, violent automobile accidents or getting a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. Children may develop PTSD symptoms by experiencing bullying or sexually traumatic events like age-inappropriate sexual experiences.

All of which make me wonder if the experiences of people who find it difficult to cope with death may not be identical to those suffering of PTSD? In my own mind I ponder that the ability to "go on" is a common observation in people that cope well with bereavement and trauma.

In some people it is nothing but tenacity, in others you find it cast by tough determination, but in the scientific community it is called resilience. Resilience describes all the different reasons why some people can just stand up and dust themselves off and include the way in which the qualities combine to make a person more resilient. All, except one reason.

Just like guilt and forgiveness, resilience is a quality left moot by acceptance.  Just like forgiveness, acceptance is a choice that can only be made by yourself, although it helps if you've got faith. According to earlier research, experience with the earthquake victims in NWFP & AJK clearly demonstrated the positive effects of faith & resilience. The findings echo that of others who show how faith in God Almighty, or some sort of divine existence is a major factor in strengthening resilience and promoting recovery from traumatic stress disorders.

By acknowledging the "Hand of God" we allow ourselves to see the "Hand of God" in our lives. From this perspective we have only one choice, even in the face of trauma and bereavement. To "go on" in faith isn't difficult at all, it is the only choice there is.