Have you ever heard of C-PTSD? Complex-PTSD? Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on which circles you roll in. However, C-PTSD is a fairly new mental health diagnosis (not yet a disorder, not yet listed in the DSM) and there is still some discussion about it, and we know many things to be true about it. Read on to learn more!
“As CPTSD is a newer diagnosis, research is lacking on how common the condition is. But experts estimate that it may affect 1% to 8% of the world population.” These are loose statistics because there is still debate about the diagnosis. For example, two organizations that publish professional reference books have different opinions about C-PTSD. In 2019, The World Health Organization (WHO) listed C-PTSD in its 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). But the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DMS-5), doesn’t recognize C-PTSD as a distinct condition. The DSM-5 does list a sub-type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) called dissociative PTSD that seems to encompass C-PTSD symptoms. Providers use criteria explained in WHO’s ICD-11 to diagnose C-PTSD. However, as C-PTSD is a newly recognized condition, some providers may not be aware of it. This may make it difficult to get an official diagnosis. A provider might diagnose you with PTSD instead of C-PTSD. Keep that in mind.
So, what exactly is C-PTSD?
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD, C-PTSD or cPTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop if you experience chronic (long-term) trauma. It involves stress responses, or nervous system reactions. These are involuntary and difficult to manage.
What exactly causes C-PTSD?
What exactly are the effects of C-PTSD?
What exactly are the stress responses of C-PTSD?
What exactly causes C-PTSD?
According to the ICD-11, Complex PTSD results from exposure to a traumatic event, or series of events, of an extremely threatening nature. The events are usually prolonged or repetitive, and escape from the situation is impossible or dangerous.
Examples of chronic trauma include:
· Long-term child physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or emotional abuse/neglect
· Long-term domestic violence
· Living with a person who is in active substance misuse/addiction
· Being a victim of human or sex trafficking
· Being a victim of a cult, or other coercive control group
· War
· Frequent community violence
· Prolonged domestic violence (including emotional and psychological abuse, such as gaslighting)
· Torture
· Genocide
· Slavery
The cause for my C-PTSD? Developmental trauma (trauma occurred in formative developmental years, by my primary caretakers and wider family system) and a lifelong history of invalidating and harmful relationships. So that means the trauma I experienced in childhood came with me as I aged, and into adulthood, and it negatively impacted almost every single interpersonal relationship I’ve had to date. Why? Because the symptoms and nervous system reactions associated with C-PTSD make it difficult to engage and behave in relationships in typical ways. Why else? Because I didn’t realize I had developmental trauma, let alone C-PTSD from it, until a few years ago…in my mid-thirties. And I’m not the exception; I’m the rule. This is true for nearly every person diagnosed with C-PTSD—they didn’t realize the negative impact their early (or prolonged) experiences had on them, their thinking, their outlook, their functioning. People believe things are just hard for them. Relationships don’t come easy for them. It must just be their personality. These are all faulty core messages and beliefs born out of a traumatic environment, born out living through a traumatic environment. They are faulty, but it doesn’t seem that way, it doesn’t feel that way. It seems and feels like this is just them, this is just it, and these things are true.
Here are a few examples of my faulty core beliefs, born out an emotionally abusive and neglectful home environment. “I’m not good enough.” “I’m not smart enough.” “I’m not pretty enough.” In addition to the ‘not enough’ messages, I also believed, “I’m too much.” “I’m too sensitive.” “I’m too fat.” “I’m too messy.” It’s a really difficult self-view to walk around with: feeling like I’m too much and not enough at the same time. It feels like a lose-lose. And also reinforced this: “Well no wonder relationships are hard for me, I’m too much of the bad things, and not enough of the good things to be loved and cared for by others.” Yes. I have walked around nearly my entire life believing this to be true about myself.
And you know what? Almost everyone around me also made me believe this was true about myself. No one ever combatted it. No one ever challenged it. Just agreed outright, and said so. Or agreed passively, and didn’t reach out or show me anything different. Do you know just how bad this makes a person feel about themselves? Do you know how bad I have felt about myself? It’s like being wrong. Just wrong. Being a human, me, me the human, is just wrong. I can’t get it right. I’m not right.
Which led to…
How can I fix myself so I can be loved and valued by others? Treated with dignity and respect? Shown appreciation and grace, when needed? What can I do to ‘be better’ so that I can have reciprocal and meaningful relationships? How do I fix myself so that I’m ‘right’ for other people? Pause. How do I fix myself so that I’m ‘right’ for other people? WTF is THIS? Who walks around thinking that the way they are, who they are, is just wrong, and needs to ‘get right?’ Traumatized people, that’s who. Because this isn’t normal. This isn’t a healthy self-view. And it’s impossible, so there’s that. It’s categorically impossible to ‘fix’ myself to be ‘right’ for people. Why? Because it’s having to subdue or hide natural parts of myself to ‘fit in’ with others. All.of.the.time. When you are constantly invalidated (your feelings, your choices, your intelligence, your skills, your needs), it’s nearly impossible to believe there is anything good about you, anything good that people would want you around. And that has been my experience.
What exactly are the effects of C-PTSD?
Brain and physiology changes, in short. Which expose themselves externally as behaviors and symptoms. These behaviors and symptoms are indicative of a problem. They are indicative of something happening to a person to leave them with these symptoms and behaving in the ways they do that are difficult, unhelpful, or don’t make any sense to others.
Traumatic stress can, and does, change your brain’s chemistry and structure. Studies suggest that trauma is associated with permanent changes in key areas of your brain, including your:
Amygdala: The part of your brain that processes fear and other emotions.
Hippocampus: The part of your brain that’s largely responsible for learning and memory.
Prefrontal cortex: The part of your brain that’s involved in executive functions, such as planning, decision-making, personality expression and controlling social behavior.
Some neuroimaging studies show that brain changes are more severe in people with CPTSD compared to people with PTSD. The reason for the increased severity in brain dysfunction is due to the prolonged and repetitive nature of the trauma. A person’s brain and physiology have to adapt to this abnormal, and harmful, environment to survive the environment. So, no, their behaviors and reactions are not ‘normal’ and they shouldn’t be, wouldn’t be, would they? Because they are born out an abnormal situation. Survival skills rarely lend themselves to developing healthy relationships. Why? Because you, your brain and body, do not care about relationships when it’s fighting for its life, fighting to survive. It’s trying to make it, protect self, save self…and if you’re system is trying to do that every moment of every day to live through a terrible set of circumstances, then there isn’t much room for relational and social thinking or actions.
And it’s really difficult and isolating for a person to live like this, in an environment like this, unable to form lasting and meaningful relationships because of living in and through an environment like this. Remember, it is not their fault relationships are difficult for them. What they’ve learned about relationship dynamics is faulty and unbalanced, and the things they need to do to survive this unhealthy place makes it difficult for them to engage in relationships in typical in healthy ways. More on this in a bit!
What exactly are the stress responses of C-PTSD?
While C-PTSD is often associated with chronic trauma in childhood, adults who experience chronic trauma can also develop the condition. This includes toxic and abusive relationships; these could be intimate, friend or work relationships. Another example where adults may experience chronic trauma is living with a person who is in throes of active addiction. There is often lying, hiding, denying in addictive behaviors and these betrayals have a negative impact on the other person/people and, obviously, the relationship dynamics. As a result, a person is stressed! Which makes total sense to me! Living in these unhealthy, unbalanced, and down right scary environments would absolutely lead any person, and any person’s nervous system, stressed out, to the max. Living in a heightened state of stress and arousal is not good for us.
Some examples of typical stress responses for C-PTSD:
· Anxiety, excessive worry, hypervigilance
· Having flashbacks or nightmares, or intrusive thoughts
· Avoiding situations, places and other things related to the traumatic event
· Heightened emotional responses, such as impulsivity or aggressiveness, defensiveness
· Persistent difficulties in sustaining relationships, due to uncertainty about relationships
Some might say, “Sarah, those sound like symptoms of PTSD.” And, for the most part, I would agree. Stress responses mimic symptoms, as symptoms are an indicator something is not functioning the way it should; indicator there is a problem in the system. And when someone is experiencing chronic trauma, these stress responses are active, over-active in fact, as that’s required to survive the environment. The real issue is that a person’s nervous system (stress response system) remains over-active even when the person is removed from the traumatic situation. Why? Because they have been wired to operate like this! They have been wired to operate like this to survive the environment! No, it’s not at all normal, when things, and relationships are not actually threatening. However, the body, the brain, has learned to operate like this and it doesn’t realize you have left the traumatic situation. It does not realize that when you meet a new person or develop a new relationship this over-active stress response system is still very over-active, and sees new people as threats, too. The person has learned that relationships are dangerous and they always have to be on guard to avoid getting hurt, or really, getting re-traumatized, as they attempt to get close to and connect with others.
Allow me to say again, this is not their fault. They did not want to be like this. They did not ask to be like this. They did not know that remaining in that environment would make them like this. And if they were children living in this type of traumatic environment, then they literally did not have the cognitive development or awareness to understand what this would do to them, to their self-view and world-view; and that it would be difficult for them to find healthy people, healthy relationships later in life.
People with C-PTSD do not have personality disorders. They are incredibly wounded and deeply hurt individuals, literally just trying to make it in the world, with the shitty tools they were given, and usually while isolated. They are doing the best they can. I am doing the best I can. There is nothing wrong with me. A lot of really bad things happened to me—that’s why I behave in ways that can, at times, make it difficult to be in relationship with me. However, I deserve kindness and respect, just like everyone else. Because I’m not doing things on purpose, I’m doing things on pattern, and for safety and survival. Until I unlearn these things. Which is a whole, long, arduous process.
Now, what exactly is the difference between C-PTSD and PTSD?
Okay, you all may still be wondering how exactly is C-PTSD different from PTSD. The main differences between PTSD and C-PTSD are the length of trauma and the symptoms.
Traditionally, experts thought PTSD generally developed from short-term trauma, such as a vehicle accident or a natural disaster. With research, they realized that people who experience long-term, repeated trauma tend to have other symptoms in addition to the symptoms of PTSD. Both C-PTSD and PTSD involve symptoms of psychological and behavioral stress responses, such as flashbacks, hypervigilance and efforts to avoid distressing reminders of the traumatic event(s).
People with C-PTSD typically have additional symptoms, including chronic & extensive issues with:
· Emotion regulation
· Identity and sense of self
· Relationships with others
What exactly are the symptoms of C-PTSD?
According to the ICD-11, complex PTSD includes most of the core symptoms of PTSD, such as:
Flashbacks (re-experiencing the traumatic event)
Avoidance and detachment from people, events and environmental triggers of the trauma
Excessive attention to the possibility of danger (hypervigilance)
Frequent negative thoughts and emotions (intrusive)
In addition to the following symptoms:
Excessive reactivity to negative emotional stimuli with anger and aggressive behavior (affective dysregulation)
A negative sense of self involving persistent feelings of shame, guilt, failure and worthlessness
Severe difficulty in forming and maintaining meaningful relationships (due to poor models and faulty core beliefs)
Let me discuss how these symptoms show up in my life. I am always on guard, especially around people, especially around people I am close to, or have attached to. This hypervigilance about people, and their reactions, responses, facial expression, behaviors, makes it really difficult for me to feel relaxed and calm around others. I enjoy people (yea, still really like people even though I have been hurt by so so many), but I don’t feel relaxed around people. I’m constantly scanning people to determine how they feel about me, are they going to abandon me, are they going to be there for me if things get tough, if my behavior is confusing or difficult to deal with, are they going to validate me if I share my feelings, fears, or needs? This is exhausting. Period, point blank. I do not want to do this. This is just what happens when I’m in the presence of people. This is one of the ways trauma has left a negative impact in its wake in my life.
Because I’m always hypervigilant, I’m always up, elevated, tense, stressed. Hence, the not being able to relax part. This anxiety, this stress, this constant ‘on’ feeling has led to incredible amounts of anxiety and anxious, catastrophic and ruminating thoughts that I’m pretty much trying to field and test out all of the time. To manage these constant negative thoughts and images, I have developed a picking disorder to cope. And let me be very clear, the picking behavior started when I was really young, around age 4 (at least that’s as far back as I can remember doing it), so again, it was not a conscious choice, it wasn’t a choice at all. It was/is a reaction/response to my body’s stress due to living in a traumatic and stressful household, day in and day out, for years and years and years. The amount of shame that comes with picking is immense. They hypervigilance then about “how I come across to others” is also wrapped up in how I look (remember faulty core message of ‘not pretty enough?’). So, constantly picking, and constantly having to hide it, and hide where I did it with make-up or clothing, also causes incredible stress in my system. Picking is an abnormal behavior, used to cope with an abnormal environment. Again, it’s not a choice. Even now. Not really a choice. It’s a compulsion. And it’s almost impossible to treat, and so far, impossible to cure.
Every interpersonal experience is stressful for me. Every interaction I have with people is stressful for me. At least it has been, and slowly we’re turning the tides. What that has led to, though, is intense reactivity to negative things that occur in relationships, or more accurately stated, intense reactivity to potential negative things that occur in relationships. Which means it (whatever ‘it’ is: a conflict, a look, a comment) doesn’t have to actually produce a negative outcome for me to be afraid it’s going to have a negative outcome, and ultimately the big fear is being abandoned by people, which historically has happened, again and again for me. So having this fear in the present makes sense. It’s just so intense that fear about a potential negative outcome in relationships leads to panic inside of me and involuntary nervous system reactions to protect myself, which for me, translate into fight (and not as much flight, freeze, or fawn—although at times, I express characteristics of all 4 danger responses). This leads to responding to negative emotional stimuli (ex. someone giving me a strange look when I say something, or someone ignoring me or invalidating me when I share a feeling or need), with anger, aggressiveness, and defensiveness. When this protector comes out (i.e. anger), it means I’m afraid…or hurt…or feel alone. But that’s not how it translates to others, obviously. And if you didn’t have any idea I had past trauma, you would probably think I’m just a ‘crazy person.’ This. This is what relational and developmental trauma leave in its path. My hypervigilance about relationships (because I have been wounded in so many, mostly by my family of origin and caretakers) and fears of abandonment (based in historical truth for my life, I have indeed been abandoned in relationships) lead to scanning people, and relationship dynamics, for problems (all of the time), finding problems (when there maybe are not), and then my system jumping into overactive protective mode to save me (normal response to living through an abnormal circumstance that presented threat or danger) by ‘fighting’ (becoming aggressive, defensive) doesn’t faire well in relationships with others. And when this happens, I don’t feel in control of it, I can’t (or haven’t been able to very well) stop it (it’s like a moving train once the amygdala kicks on), and I think you can imagine the impact this has on interpersonal relationships. Not good. And I get it! But it’s also not my fault I turned out this. (It is my responsibility to address it now, to heal my trauma and old wounds, so that I can engage in relationships differently—hello therapy for likely the rest of my life!).
Lastly, insomnia. I have had debilitating insomnia for nearly 20 years. I have been prescribed, and taking, sleep medications for just as long, and sometimes they work (when stressors are low, and re-traumatization is not happening), and for many years it has seemed nothing will work. I operated on 4-6 hours of interrupted and not incredibly sound or restful sleep for over 15 years—straight. This absolutely has a negative impact on well-being and functioning. Over time, the stress from carrying unprocessed and unhealed trauma, accidentally finding myself in relationships where I was re-traumatized, and lack of adequate sleep really started to show itself. I started having difficulty focusing, concentrating, making-decisions, caring for myself, caring for my home. My hair fell out randomly in a big patch; I had a severe case of shingles, with the nerve pain lasting a year, and now nerve damage on that side of my body. Things were so off and so bad, I thought I had undiagnosed ADHD. Set out for testing, find out I have absolutely no ADHD, but a BUNCH of trauma showing up in my brain/cognitive functioning, and negatively impacting just about every area of my life.
These are just four examples of how the symptoms, and involuntary nervous system reactions, still impact me today, at nearly 40 years old. It’s not fun. It’s not ideal. I would’ve NEVER asked to go through life like this. It’s unwanted, and often feels, unfair. I have felt so low, and so lonely, at times, I’ve wanted to exit life. For some, this may translate in to suicidal thoughts and even attempts. For me, it was much more appealing to get up, move somewhere completely new and different, and leave everything, and everyone I once knew, behind. Start over. New life. Blank slate. Start again. I didn’t do that, haven’t done that (even though I have come real close more than once in my life), but, as a result, finding people, places, and things that are comfortable and peaceful for my nervous system has been anything but easy! In fact, healing has been a bit of a grueling process. It’s hard work. It’s exhausting. This has been true for me. And every client I have worked with and provided treatment for their C-PTSD. Everyone says it’s hard, not fun, and would rather not have go through the painful process of healing.
This is also why I heavily advocate for a trauma informed future, and heavily advocate for mental health treatment and ending the stigma of accessing this kind of care. Where all people understand, appreciate, and find value in using trauma informed principles and practice to engage in the world, engage with other people, and to engage in their decision-making. See, you don’t need to know that I’ve experienced so much painful trauma to treat me with tender loving equitable care. If everyone just treated everyone else with tender loving equitable care, it would help heal the broken, and it would help the traumatized to feel seen, heard, and accepted, and it would benefit everyone in that treating each other better would lead to a more pleasant, harmonious, peaceful world. Who doesn’t want that? For real? Who is going to stand up and say, “Nah. I don’t want things to be comfortable and peaceful. I want things to be chaotic and problematic, for me and everyone else?” Yea, not healthy people, that’s for sure.
How exactly is C-PTSD treated?
Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is the main treatment for complex PTSD. Specifically, this type of psychotherapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called trauma-focused CBT. This is what I use in my practice for folks with C-PTSD. I use trauma-informed, trauma-focused, neuroscience based, CBT. And it works! Many of my clients have come through their trauma into a whole and healthy person using these techniques. Although I support, and understand the benefits, of other trauma treatment modalities, such as EMDR, Psychodrama, and tapping, in my experience, these modalities are not always needed to treat C-PTSD.
Psychotherapy takes place with a trained, licensed mental health professional, such as a clinical social worker (me!), professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, or psychologist. Psychiatrists almost exclusively prescribe medications to treat mental health disorders, and it is not customary for psychiatrists, or psychiatric NPs (nurse practitioner) to engage in talk therapy with clients.
Trauma-focused CBT involves:
Learning how your body responds to trauma and stress
Learning how to notice and manage symptoms
Identifying and reframing problematic thinking patterns
Exposure therapy (meaning not avoiding relationships because they are scary)
People with PTSD and C-PTSD often avoid things or situations that they associate with their trauma. Because of this, they aren’t able to learn that they can manage their fear when presented with these stimuli. Therapists use exposure therapy for people who have PTSD and C-PTSD. Exposure therapy slowly encourages them to enter situations that cause them anxiety and to try to stay in that situation so they can learn to cope.
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is another type of trauma-focused therapy. This treatment focuses on addressing the distressing and often problematic thoughts and emotions that have developed since the traumatic event(s). I believe cognitive processing is part of the CBT experience in treatment. Part of rewiring the brain is challenging faulty core messages and beliefs; shedding these unhelpful and untrue beliefs about ourselves by finding self-compassion, and with a supportive guide (therapist); and trying on new ways of thinking and being in the world.
Medication for C-PTSD
Currently, there are no medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat PTSD or C-PTSD. However, healthcare providers may prescribe certain medications to help certain C-PTSD symptoms, such as:
Antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
Anti-anxiety medications
Sleep medications (insomnia very common, especially for people born as women with trauma)
What exactly is the prognosis (outlook) for C-PTSD?
For many people, C-PTSD is a lifelong condition. The good news is that psychotherapy and medication can help manage your symptoms. And this has been true for me over the years. I’m still quite active in my own psychotherapy, and waist deep in trauma healing right now (remember I said it’s only been a few years for me realizing I struggle with C-PTSD? Yea, still working on it…). I feel seen, heard, accepted, and supported by my therapist 10-fold and that makes a huge difference. Slowly, I have been able to enter new relationships with a slightly different mindset (that turning of the tides…) and even have had a few new experiences where it was obvious my trauma was activated (formerly known as ‘triggered’) and I was able to respond differently for myself…and a few people have been there to lift me up and support me, and this also contributes to rewiring the brain (with new people experiences) and healing old wounds (created out of invalidation and not being seen by people close to me) by feeling supported and accepted, as we need people to heal. We need others to bear witness to our stories, and our pain, to complete the cycle, and find rest, recovery. We can’t heal in isolation; we can only heal in community…and finding a safe community for those with C-PTSD feels like a monumental feat. So, again, be kind. Be accepting. Be curious. Be forgiving. We all need some folks in our corner, willing to lift us up out of darkness, and willing to go to bat for us when others are being harmful.
This is why a trauma informed future would be helpful for everyone. It would make it easier for everyone and anyone to find their people, and settle into supportive relationships, and feel what it’s actually supposed to be like living life with and alongside other people.
How to take care of self if you have C-PTSD?
Aside from seeking treatment for acute stress disorder, things you can do to help yourself include:
Engaging in mild exercise to help reduce stress and boost your mood
Setting realistic goals for yourself
Spending time with people you trust and educating them about your experience and things that may activate symptoms
Identifying and seeking out comforting situations and places
Increasing time and efforts for self-care (movement, foods, hobbies, fun, faith etc)
Being patient and kind to yourself (self-compassion). You should expect your symptoms to improve gradually, not immediately
What have I learned to do to care for myself while I heal? I’ve made lots of changes to the pace and flow of my life. I’m estranged from nearly everyone in my family system because they remain unhealthy and toxic to be around. I only spend time with safe, supportive people for my nervous system, and since I’m still very sensitive to relationships, this is only about once per month right now (in-person, I talk to supportive people almost daily in these new more balanced relationships). My job as a therapist to others with C-PTSD and other mental health disorders, is emotionally taxing, which means my emotional capacity beyond work is extremely limited at this time; it’s why I only spend time with people once per month. Outside of meaningful work (and I do love work! All aspects of my work. I’ve been known to be a bit of a work-a-holic in the past, as this is also a sign and response from a person with C-PTSD), I get outside for at least 30 minutes every day. I go for at least a mile long walk 4-7 times per week. I engage in other healthy movement routines, such as yoga, Zumba, body weight training, and stretching. I spend a lot of time (mostly on weekends) doing things I enjoy and/or that bring peace and calm. For me, these include, reading, drawing in my bullet journal, coloring, making jewelry, talking walks, spending time with my dogs, organizing things, and creating digital products and stickers. And music! Without music I would die. Music is my go-to for finding happiness and comfort. So, I make lots of time for listening to music at home while I do other fun and relaxing activities. And I make lots of time to go to concerts, festivals, and music events. Live music ignites my soul, and being present at a concert for one of my favorite bands, is like the happiest place on earth for me! Yea, I definitely make time for this!
What have I learned to not do anymore to care for myself while I heal? Spend time doing things that I feel obligated to do (outside of work and home responsibilities). Mostly this is spending time with people or in activities I feel obligated to be a part of but don’t really want to. No more of that. I don’t go many places, or do many things anymore. I used to be go-go-go. Fill my weekends with activities outside of the house, trying to get up with people, maintain relationships, get nails done, run errands, shop. I’ve cut out a lot of that, and am happy to spend 5-6 days a week not leaving my house. I no longer put more into people or relationships than they are willing to put into me. This has opened up an incredible amount of capacity to better care for myself and my needs. I don’t get as worked up and dysregulated when my trauma responses get turned on. I’m better able to recognize it, and choose to do something that will regulate the emotions, instead of ramp them up. I no longer sacrifice my values or myself for the sake of relationships, any relationships. This one is huge! Being able to live into my values, not the values others have, or that others think I should have, has contributed to a big shift in my worldview and self-view. I feel more aligned now, more in congruence with who I am, and that absolutely feels better in my mind, body, and nervous system.
To sum up C-PTSD
C-PTSD is a new diagnosis, there is still debate and unknowns about symptoms, responses, and effective treatments
C-PTSD is born out of a traumatic childhood and/or pervasive traumatic environment in which you can’t escape easily or without danger
C-PTSD is not PTSD, or Borderline Personality Disorder, although its signs and symptoms have some overlap
C-PTSD has a negative impact on your brain, mind, body, and physiological system
C-PTSD is characterized by emotional reactivity, fragile and faulty sense of self, difficulty trusting others and difficulty finding safety in relationships with others
C-PTSD reactions are involuntary and unwanted, and difficult for the person experiencing them
C-PTSD is treated with trauma-informed, trauma-focused psychotherapy and can include using modalities such as CBT, Cognitive Processing Therapy, EMDR, Psychodrama, DBT
C-PTSD can lead to suicide if left untreated, unhealed and/or the person remains isolated from others
C-PTSD is not a choice, it’s not a choice to be difficult in relationships, it’s not a choice to struggle this much in life
How exactly can you learn more about C-PTSD?
A few resources have been really helpful for me in unlearning the faulty core beliefs, understanding more about myself and my C-PTSD symptoms/reactions, and normalizing my abnormal behaviors born out of a traumatic home environment, and leading me to more self-compassion and self-care.
What Happened To You? Conversations on trauma, resilience and healing. By Bruce Perry
Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic. How trauma works and how we can heal from it. By Paul Conti
Drama Free: A guide to managing unhealthy family relationships. By Nedra Glover Tawwab
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to heal from distant, rejecting, or self-involved parents. By Lindsay C. Gibson
Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life. By Emily Nagoski
The work of Brene Brown re: shame and Daring Leadership
Where can you find safe community accepting of
C-PTSD?
I’ll share where I have found community and you can consider joining those spaces, or use it as a jumping off point to narrow down what you need in a community for your wellness.
Circle of Friends Club: virtual community of folks with a heart for advocacy and inclusion around mental health disorders and treatment. We aim to educate, inspire, and connect with like-minded and value-aligned individuals, businesses, companies, and groups. Memberships are affordable and available. Also, I’m the Chief Mental Health Officer for this space, ensuring mental wellness and trauma informed care are always at the forefront of everything we do and produce for our community.
Integrate Trauma Informed Network: a virtual community of practice dedicated to the learning and application of trauma informed skills in real time with real people in every aspect of work and life. The mission is to reduce pathways to harm, and open more pathways for people to find safety and safeness by using trauma informed principles and practices. This space is for human care providers and those desiring to rise up in Trauma Informed Leadership.
Trauma Informed Learning Studio: a virtual community of practice dedicated to learning and applying trauma informed principles to work and business. There are meet-ups, resources, guides, and space to interact with each other via media platform. This space is for anyone looking to grow in their skills and be able to practice those skills in real time with real people. Also focused on raising up Trauma Informed Leadership.
Hounds of Business Community: virtual community of high-level heart-centered professionals looking to help people, help each other, with genuine authenticity, with the purpose of everyone making more money while they do it. Inclusive business space for professionals and entrepreneurs of all kinds, with value-alignment of authenticity and heart-centered humanity. So many resources, free events, business and financial guidance, networking and marketing support, with an emphasis on whole-person wellness. No more sacrificing yourself for work, others will help boost you and your business to the foreground.
If joining a community feels daunting for anyone reading, I get it! It’s not something I wanted to do early in my healing era either. So, if you want to access people who get it, information and inspiration, but low stakes and limited to zero participation required, consider attending one of Circle of Friends Club’s Freedom Fight Expos. These live events feature guest speakers on themed topics of mental health and wellness. Experts in health, mental health, fitness, nutrition, and faith share their personal stories with mental health and offer tips for wellness. They occur monthly, 2 hours each day, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, over video conferencing, and cost is extremely affordable (and discount for students!). Come linger and learn, feels us out first, and gain some valuable insights and strategies for curating healthier mental wellness.
If being present live anywhere seems like too much, I get that too! And there are still options to access quality information and care on your own. My Compassionate Self Kits will help you start to reflect and offer strategies for dealing and coping. For Trauma Informed Leadership reflection and strategy options, my Trauma Informed Leader Learning Guide is great start. And finally, my free monthly newsletter Tips & Thoughts from the Timeless Therapist is chock full of mental health and wellness information and always includes free handouts, prompts, worksheets, or e-books created and developed by me, a psychotherapist with over 15 years of clinical practice experience and lifetime of her own trauma.
Some of my previously written blogs that might be helpful:
You can access my content for free:
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