DEATH SCENARIO
PSY225 – POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
ALISHA FRANK
MAY 4, 2015

For this paper I was asked to read a death scenario provided and to explain the way I felt whilst reading and immediately following. The scenario was that of a being trapped in a burning building. I was told to imagine that I was visiting a friend on the twentieth floor of an apartment building. While sleeping I was awoken in the middle of the night to the sounds of frantic screams and the intense smell of smoke. The first thing the scenario describes is that you run to the door and immediately burn yourself on the door knob, you then grab a blanket and manage to open the door only to find that flames and smoke come pouring in. The only window in the room is
Going through those experiences did make me realize how short life really is and how important is it to live each day to my fullest potential. Facing and overcoming traumatic life events is an important motivation for a personal growth and development. (Baumgardner, Crothers, 2009) According to "Association For Psychological Science" (2011) the people with the “best outcomes were those who had experienced some negative events.” What this means is that you can come out of a traumatic experience better than you were when the event happened in the first place. There is truth in the age old saying that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” I am definitely stronger for having gone through the negative events in my life that I have and I have a greater appreciation for all things now. This type of growth is referred to as Post Traumatic Growth. PTG is when a person fights through negative events and experiences and ends up with a more positive outlook on life and situations as well as a stronger potential for emotional and personal growth. PTG has the ability to help a person relate to others in similar situations as well, which helps people connect to one another. Research on PTG has also shown that these types of negative experiences can help to lead people into not only new ways of looking at life but also new undertakings, ways