Religion and spirituality after trauma

Traumatic events often leave survivors with a number of perplexing and unanswered questions. These questions frequently are not recognized by the survivor in the immediate period after the acute trauma, but their ultimate resolution often determines the degree of optimum posttraumatic adjustment, both intrapersonal and interpersonal. These questions frequently involve an encounter with the ultimate questions of human existence, such as the capriciousness of life and death, the meaning of loss, and the moral complexities of good and evil. Frequent examples include: Why did this occur? I am a good person and have led a good life. Why did this happen to me? Did I do something to cause this to happen? Why did God allow this to happen? Will the perpetrators of evil be punished? I have lost so much; is life worth living anymore? What do I have to live for? My life is so painful now and has no purpose – will it be better in the next life? Many of these questions that survivors and clinicians grapple with in long-term recovery involve complex religious and spiritual questions and have no easy answers. They are often painful and challenge a person's core belief systems (personal, secular, and religious). The process of confronting these questions and attempting resolution frequently involves an examination of previously stable cultural and religious assumptions that were the foundations of a person's life: I am safe; God is watching over me and my family; good will prevail over evil and a good life will be rewarded; I am a good person and would never wish evil on others for any reason; this life is hard, but after death I will be reunited with my loved ones and be happy.