What does not kill you can make you stronger: Creativity as an adaptive outcome after trauma.

Trauma is a ubiquitous aspect of human life that can challenge psychological health but also trigger adaptive changes. Tension theory suggests that exposure to stress events may stimulate novel and flexible thinking. Historical evidence indicates that many eminent creators experienced significant childhood trauma, implying that creativity can emerge as an adaptive response. Building on this framework, we examined how cumulative trauma exposure relates to creativity and whether complex posttrauma