Does suffering build character and strength or are we glorifying/justifying it?

Does suffering build character, or is that a story we tell to make pain bearable? Philosophers like the Stoics and Nietzsche believed hardship was essential for growth. Buddhism treats suffering as the first noble truth, a necessary gateway to transformation. But others, like Camus, saw suffering as absurd, not inherently meaningful. In psychology, we see both post-traumatic growth and lasting trauma. War veterans, survivors of loss, and spiritual seekers all carry different outcomes. Sometimes suffering deepens insight; other times it simply wounds. Can we hold the idea that pain might shape us, while also questioning whether it always needs to justify itself?