Transformation through tragedy: do women cope better?

08 February 2012

Steve Taylor, author of ‘Out of the Darkness’, a book telling the stories of people who have undergone profound personal transformation after intense trauma and turmoil, was interviewed last week on BBC Radio 4 'Woman’s Hour'.

Steve Taylor is a lecturer on the BA (Hons) Psychology and Society degree course. His research suggests that women are more likely than men to undergo a permanent, positive shift in their attitude to life as the result of suffering tragedy. His book includes the story of a young woman who felt reborn after suffering terrible injuries in the 7/7 tube bombings in London.

In the interview he speaks of the gradual, incremental process of ‘post-traumatic growth’ after bereavement or illness, which leads to living in a more authentic way with a greater sense of perspective. He adds: “Other people go through an ecstatic moment of change, which is more rare.”

“Most of the people in my book confronted death in a very direct way,” Steve says. “Although it is natural for us to avoid suffering in our lives, turmoil and trauma can actually have a powerfully positive effect. The book illustrates the almost infinite capacity of human beings to overcome suffering and suggests that, so long as we have the courage to face up to and accept negative situations, they do not hold as much fear for us as we might think.”

“Since my book was published, about 50 more people have contacted us and the majority of them were women. People who are open to post-traumatic growth or transformation tend to have the quality of openness; they are more curious, more empathic, more appreciative of their lives. Women tend to have a higher level of empathy in general, so maybe that quality of empathy and openness makes them more liable to undergo this change.”

‘Out of the Darkness’ was published last year by Hay House UK Ltd.

Listen to the clip on BBC iPlayer (Chapter 3)

More information about Steve Taylor’s research

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