Meaning-Making After Suffering
Post-traumatic growth
Introduction
Suffering often breaks more than comfort—it breaks meaning. After loss, betrayal, violence, illness, or prolonged hardship, people don’t only ask “What happened?” They ask, “Why did it happen?” “What does this mean about me, God, and the world?” Meaning-making is the psychological (and often spiritual) work of rebuilding a life story that can hold pain without collapsing identity. In the research literature, this process is closely linked to adjustment after stressful life events and can shape whether people feel stuck in despair or able to move forward with renewed direction. (PubMed)
At the same time, many survivors report something paradoxical: alongside enduring pain, they experience positive change—greater appreciation of life, stronger relationships, deeper spirituality, or a clarified sense of purpose. This is commonly described as post-traumatic growth (PTG), often measured using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). (PubMed)
This newsletter explores how meaning-making supports post-traumatic growth, how belief systems can help (or sometimes complicate) recovery, and practical steps individuals and communities can use to support healing with integrity.
What post-traumatic growth is—and what it is not
Post-traumatic growth is not the idea that trauma is “good,” that suffering was “necessary,” or that pain disappears. PTG refers to positive psychological change that can emerge through the struggle with highly challenging life events—often in domains such as relationships, personal strength, new possibilities, appreciation of life, and spiritual change. (PubMed)
It is also important to avoid turning PTG into pressure. People heal at different speeds, and many experience resilience (stable functioning) rather than dramatic “growth.” Research also warns that some reports of growth can reflect coping narratives that help people endure, even when deeper change is still developing. (PMC)
Meaning-making after suffering
Meaning-making theory distinguishes between a person’s global meaning (core beliefs about safety, fairness, identity, God, purpose) and the situational meaning of a specific event (“What does this loss mean?”). Distress often increases when a traumatic event violates global meaning—shattering assumptions like “the world is safe,” “life is fair,” or “God protects.” Recovery then involves rebuilding coherence: revising beliefs, restoring purpose, and integrating the event into a life story that can be lived. (PubMed)
Meaning-making doesn’t always produce tidy answers. Often, the healthiest outcome is a “workable meaning”: I don’t fully understand why this happened, but I can still live faithfully, love meaningfully, and act with courage.
How growth can emerge from meaning-making
Research suggests that growth is most associated with the struggle to process the event—not with the event itself. In meta-analytic work on benefit finding/growth, perceived growth is often linked with better well-being outcomes (like less depression and more positive well-being), while also sometimes coexisting with continued intrusive thoughts about the stressor. In other words, growth and distress can sit side by side. (PubMed)
Many meaning-making pathways that support PTG include:
Cognitive processing: making sense of what happened, revising assumptions, and reducing chaos. (PubMed)
Relational depth: receiving care, practicing vulnerability, and re-learning trust. (PubMed)
Values clarification: deciding what matters most now (integrity, family, service, faith). (PMC)
Purpose rebuilding: choosing how to live forward, even with scars. (McKinsey & Company)
Belief systems as a “meaning framework”
In the theme of this month—Trauma, Resilience & Belief—belief systems matter because they provide three powerful supports: story, practice, and community.
1. Story that holds suffering
Faith traditions often contain language for lament, endurance, forgiveness, justice, and hope. This can reduce isolation (“others have walked this road”) and help suffering feel less random. Meaning-making research recognizes that spiritual and existential frameworks can shape how people interpret adversity and integrate it into identity. (PMC)
2. Practices that stabilize the nervous system
Prayer, worship, scripture reading, fasting, and rituals of remembrance can create structure when life feels unsafe. Repetition can support emotional regulation and reduce the sense of “free fall” after loss. (These practices are supports—not replacements—for professional care when symptoms are severe.) (PMC)
3. Community that carries people
Supportive faith communities can reduce loneliness and provide tangible care (visits, meals, financial support, childcare, collective prayer). When community support is safe and nonjudgmental, it becomes a major resilience asset. (PMC)
When belief complicates healing
Belief can heal—but it can also harm when misapplied. A key distinction in the literature is between positive religious coping (seeking comfort, meaning, spiritual support) and negative religious coping (feeling punished or abandoned by God, spiritual conflict, shame-based interpretations). Negative religious coping is associated with greater distress in many contexts. (MDPI)
Two common risks in faith settings:
Spiritual bypassing: using spiritual language to avoid grief (“Don’t cry—just have faith”), which can delay emotional processing. (PMC)
Moralizing trauma: implying suffering is evidence of weak faith, hidden sin, or spiritual failure—often increasing shame and isolation. (MDPI)
Healthy belief-based support makes room for honest lament, questions, and the slow work of rebuilding trust.
Practical steps for meaning-making and growth
Below is a trauma-informed approach that fits both clinical wisdom and faith-based care.
1. Name the loss clearly
Avoid minimizing. Use direct language: “This was painful. This changed you.” Naming reality is the starting point of integration. (PMC)
2. Separate “why” from “what now”
Some “why” questions take years. Meanwhile, “what now” questions can guide daily life:
What do I need today to be safe and steady?
Who are my safe people?
What value will guide my next step? (PubMed)
3. Build a small, repeatable routine
Meaning-making is not only insight—it is practice. A 10–20 minute daily rhythm (prayer + journaling + a short walk) can stabilize recovery. (McKinsey & Company)
4. Create a “growth journal” without forcing positivity
Try prompts that honor pain while opening space for change:
“What did this suffering reveal about what matters most?”
“Where did I receive love I didn’t expect?”
“What strength did I discover, even if I wish I didn’t have to?” (PubMed)
5. Seek support early when symptoms persist
If nightmares, panic, severe avoidance, substance misuse, or hopelessness continue, professional trauma-focused care can be essential. Faith and therapy can work together rather than compete. (PMC)
Meaning and growth in workplaces and communities
Meaning-making is not only individual—it is also cultural. McKinsey’s work on workplace well-being explicitly includes sense of purpose as part of well-being, and defines “meaning” as employees experiencing purpose and accomplishment in their work. (McKinsey & Company)
This matters because many people carry grief and trauma into jobs, churches, and community responsibilities. Leaders can reduce harm and support resilience by:
normalizing humane conversations and support pathways,
building psychologically safer cultures, and
protecting dignity during high-stress seasons. (McKinsey & Company)
At a broader level, McKinsey Kenya emphasizes combining global expertise with local insights to support sustainable and inclusive growth—an idea that parallels resilience: communities rebuild best when solutions fit local realities and strengthen long-term capacity. (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey’s Africa-focused work during COVID-19 also highlights how crisis can catalyze long-term reimagination—showing that “growth after disruption” can be true for systems as well as individuals, when recovery is deliberate and inclusive. (McKinsey & Company)
Conclusion
Meaning-making after suffering is not denial, and post-traumatic growth is not a requirement. They are possibilities—often born from honest grieving, supportive relationships, values clarity, and (for many) faith practices that hold pain with hope. Research shows that people can experience genuine positive change alongside ongoing grief, and that meaning-making processes strongly shape adjustment after adversity. (PubMed)
When belief systems are compassionate and trauma-informed, they can become powerful tools for recovery: offering story, practice, and community. The goal is not to erase suffering, but to rebuild a life where suffering no longer owns the future.
References
Helgeson, V. S., Reynolds, K. A., & Tomich, P. L. (2006). A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(5), 797–816. (PubMed)
McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). McKinsey Kenya: Overview. https://www.mckinsey.com/ke/overview (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). Our work in Kenya. https://www.mckinsey.com/ke/our-work (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). Well-being in the Workplace (collection). https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/well-being-in-the-workplace (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey & Company. (2020, May 29). Reopening and reimagining Africa. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/middle-east-and-africa/reopening-and-reimagining-africa (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey & Company. (2020, April 17). Finding Africa’s path: Shaping bold solutions to save lives and livelihoods in the COVID-19 crisis. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/middle-east-and-africa/finding-africas-path-shaping-bold-solutions-to-save-lives-and-livelihoods-in-the-covid-19-crisis (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey Health Institute. (2025, January 16). Thriving workplaces: How employers can improve productivity and change lives (Meaning dimension). https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/thriving-workplaces-how-employers-can-improve-productivity-and-change-lives (McKinsey & Company)
McKinsey & Company. (2022, June 28). Meet the psychological needs of your people—all your people. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/meet-the-psychological-needs-of-your-people-all-your-people (McKinsey & Company)
Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin. (PubMed)
Park, C. L. (2022). Meaning making following trauma. Current Opinion in Psychology. (PMC)
Pargament, K. I., Feuille, M., & Burdzy, D. (2011). The Brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions, 2(1), 51–76. (MDPI)
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02103658 (PubMed)