What is living with complex PTSD like?

Living with Complex PTSD can create intense emotional flashbacks that provide challenges in controlling emotions that may provoke severe depression, suicidal thoughts, or difficulty in managing anger. C-PTSD can also create dissociations, which can be a way the mind copes with intense trauma.


How does a person with complex PTSD act?

Symptoms of complex PTSD

feelings of worthlessness, shame and guilt. problems controlling your emotions. finding it hard to feel connected with other people. relationship problems, like having trouble keeping friends and partners.

What does a complex PTSD episode look like?

Symptoms of complex PTSD

avoiding situations that remind a person of the trauma. dizziness or nausea when remembering the trauma. hyperarousal, which means being in a continual state of high alert. the belief that the world is a dangerous place.


Can people with complex PTSD live normal lives?

As is the case with most mental illnesses, PTSD isn't considered curable, but it is treatable. The individual can learn to cope with the symptoms, reframe their experiences and live a happy, healthy life with minimal disruptions.

How does CPTSD affect daily life?

Post-traumatic stress disorder can disrupt your whole life ― your job, your relationships, your health and your enjoyment of everyday activities. Having PTSD may also increase your risk of other mental health problems, such as: Depression and anxiety. Issues with drugs or alcohol use.


How art and music helped me overcome my Complex PTSD | Deena Lynch | TEDxUQ



What should you not do with a complex PTSD?

Invalidate or dismiss their experiences. Compare their experiences. Blame them. Shame them.

What are people with CPTSD like?

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD, sometimes abbreviated to c-PTSD or CPTSD) is a condition where you experience some symptoms of PTSD along with some additional symptoms, such as: difficulty controlling your emotions. feeling very angry or distrustful towards the world.

Is complex PTSD a serious mental illness?

CPTSD is a serious mental health condition that can take some time to treat, and for many people, it's a lifelong condition. However, a combination of therapy and medication can help you manage your symptoms and significantly improve your quality of life.


Is complex PTSD considered a disability?

Also, since people living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder qualify for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, the Social Security Administration will consider them disabled.

Why do people with complex PTSD self isolate?

By isolating themselves, PTSD sufferers can avoid negative responses or continued efforts to explain feelings. Self-isolation may not be a conscious choice. As individuals struggle to deal with their feelings, being alone seems like the easiest option.

What are unusual symptoms of complex PTSD?

Reliving what happened can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations, and many more physical reactions. Hyperarousal. Many who have survived severe and repeated traumatic events often find themselves always on high alert waiting and watching subconsciously for any signs of danger.


What are emotional triggers for CPTSD?

Some common triggers include: specific physical sensations or pain. intense emotions like fear, sadness, or anger. a breakup or divorce.

What is the best medication for complex PTSD?

What are the best medications to treat PTSD?
  • Sertraline (Zoloft) is FDA-approved for treating PTSD, and it's one of the most common medications prescribed for this condition. ...
  • Paroxetine (Paxil) is the only other FDA-approved medication for PTSD. ...
  • Fluoxetine (Prozac) is used off-label for treating PTSD.


How debilitating is PTSD complex?

The symptoms of complex PTSD resemble those of conventional PTSD, but they are more painful and often dominate the lives of those who experience them. Complex PTSD is one of the most debilitating mental health disorders, and yet it remains largely unknown and is only now beginning to receive the attention it deserves.


What are the stages of complex PTSD?

PTSD can be divided into four phases: the impact phase, the rescue phase, the intermediate recovery phase, and the long-term reconstruction phase. The impact phase encompasses initial reactions such as shock, fear, and guilt.

What is complex PTSD dissociation?

Essentially, complex PTSD dissociation is a stress response that causes a broken mental and emotional link between things or experiences you would normally associate with one another. You process life very differently to accommodate the upsetting way you learned to see the world.

Can complex PTSD cause brain damage?

According to recent studies, Emotional Trauma and PTSD do cause both brain and physical damage. Neuropathologists have seen overlapping effects of physical and emotional trauma upon the brain.


Can you work if you have complex PTSD?

Can you work with PTSD? The answer is not a simple yes or no, but unfortunately for many people with this condition, maintaining a job and other responsibilities is difficult or impossible. With the right treatment, though, the debilitating symptoms of PTSD lessen and it is possible to regain normal functioning.

Can people with Cptsd work?

CPTSD was associated with lowered working capacity and treatment response compared to PTSD. Disorder-specific interventions are needed to address not only the unique symptom spectrum of CPTSD but also to increase patients' working capacity.

Can complex PTSD change your personality?

Since even chronic PTSD will eventually lead to personality modification, it is suggested that complex trauma exposure, even during adulthood, is a predisposing factor for complex PTSD occurring, which will, eventually, if relatively prolonged in time, lead to more severe personality changes often clinically similar to ...


How to love someone with complex PTSD?

If you aren't sure how to support a loved one with complex PTSD, here are some suggestions to start with.
  1. Recognize That We Don't Always Know Our Triggers, Either. ...
  2. Encourage Us to Express Our Grief and Anger. ...
  3. Let Us Vent Without Trying to Fix Things. ...
  4. Give Us Permission to Be Imperfect. ...
  5. Educate Yourself About C-PTSD.


How complex PTSD affects relationships?

Partners may feel confused or angry as well as emotionally unheard. Unfortunately, because feeling unsafe is at the core of emotional avoidance, many with cPTSD may feel misunderstood by those in their lives, which can cause them to further isolate themselves. A lack of trust.

How can you tell if someone has CPTSD?

Common symptoms of PTSD
  • vivid flashbacks (feeling like the trauma is happening right now)
  • intrusive thoughts or images.
  • nightmares.
  • intense distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma.
  • physical sensations such as pain, sweating, nausea or trembling.


How do I take care of myself with CPTSD?

Here are several tips to help ensure that your self-care is centered on helping you heal and re-engage in life.
  1. Awareness. Becoming aware of what your body is telling you is important in learning to create a self-care program that is geared to your specific needs. ...
  2. Meditation. ...
  3. Social Support. ...
  4. Consistency.


Do people with CPTSD have abandonment issues?

Signs of PTSD of Abandonment

Fear of being left behind or abandoned. Inability to form healthy relationships in the teenage or adult years. Low self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. Anxiety and insecurity.