What usually happens after something terrible

A short read

Before we start

This is about what research finds happens to most people after a terrible event. It is a description of averages, not a standard to measure yourself against, and it is not treatment advice. If something is not lifting, that is a reason to talk to someone, not a personal failure.

Sources

Bonanno GA and colleagues — prospective trajectory research on bereavement, disaster, injury and violence, identifying distinct outcome paths and finding that a resilient trajectory is the most common one
The methodological point that studies measuring people BEFORE the event avoid retrospective reconstruction of how they were