Not to hijack the thread, but along the same lines (I think everyone will follow me on this)... they used to say this about Pain. They used to say, and in fact those who are ignorant still say it, that the more pain you go through, the stronger you become and the more pain you can tolerate. This has been shown to be incorrect, and in fact, the exact opposite is true.

I don't see how retraumatizing someone helps them heal from the first trauma. No, someone who has been tramautized is more susceptible to other events, and has indeed become weaker (if we are to use the author's terms?) It isn't really weaker to me, but a different way of response.

Now, if you are actually THINKING about a situation, and DECIDE, OK I'm going to respond THIS WAY rather than the best way, then YEAH you probably are making a choice. This isn't the way the PTSD I know behaves though. TC!