“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.

^{It is the one that is most adaptable to change”}

^{Charles Darwin}  

Awareness is not clarity. It’s the beginning of it. After a one-time traumatic event, the world may keep turning — but yours has stopped. You try to carry on. You tell yourself you’re okay.
But underneath the surface, something is off. You’re exhausted. You can’t sleep. You feel numb… or you feel everything. This is the moment when awareness begins to whisper. It asks you to stop, turn inward, and acknowledge the truth: “Something happened. I am not the same. And I’m not okay.” That’s where post-traumatic growth begins.

The stage of Awareness & Radical Acceptance

In her five-phase model of post-traumatic growth, Dr. Edith Shiro describes Awareness as the first necessary step:  A phase of slowing down. Confronting. Admitting. Feeling. In this stage, we begin to:

• Recognise the emotional, physical, and social effects of the trauma

• Hear the inner voice that’s long been silenced

• Notice patterns of fear, shame, avoidance, overcompensation, or denial

• Admit that we can’t do it all alone

This stage doesn’t feel like growth. It feels like standing still — but that’s what makes it so powerful.

What this phase looked like for me

When I entered this phase myself, I didn’t call it “awareness.” I called it confusion. Burnout. Grief. Shame. Silence. I didn’t yet understand that my body, mind, and emotions were sounding the alarm — through sleepless nights, irritability, fear, and a deep sense of disconnection.I thought I had failed. But what was really happening: My system was finally saying no more. No more pushing through. No more pretending to be fine. No more surviving on auto-pilot. This is what radical acceptance invites: The willingness to stop fighting what is, and start feeling what’s true.

What we explore in this phase

In Stronger Than Your Trauma - How to transform from victim to hero, I describe this stage in detail — not only from my lived experience, but also with reflection exercises and practical tools. Together, we explore:

• What emotions are surfacing (even if they feel contradictory)

• How shame, doubt, fear and loneliness may show up

• What it means to acknowledge rather than suppress

• How to gently listen to the body’s signals

• Why asking for support is not weakness — but courage

You’re not asked to solve anything in this phase. Only to stay close. To name. To notice. Awareness is a tender process — not a performance.

Why this phase is essential

Without awareness, we stay in the loop. We repeat, repress or disconnect. With awareness, we start to see. Not always clearly — but enough to take the first conscious step toward healing. And that’s how growth begins. 

You don’t have to do this alone

Inside the Sustainable Wellbeing Platform after Trauma this first phase is gently guided — through shared language, group support, and space to breathe. Whether you’re reading the book or walking this path with us in community: Know that awareness is not something to fear.
It’s something to honour. It means you are listening. And listening is where transformation begins.

Curious to learn more about the five phases?

Download the free e-book via our contact form or read the previous blogs in this series. Sustainable Wellbeing Solutions. 

Awareness is not the end of the pain. It’s the beginning of your return to yourself.