CPTSD & PTSD Relationship

Started by Jazzy, December 10, 2017, 09:33:23 AM

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Jazzy

I wrote down the events which resulted in my becoming traumatized. It started with a single event, but continued for the rest of my life. Most of it doesn't apply any more since I've moved out of my parent's house. Some of it has continued until early this year, and some of it is still ongoing, although I don't think it's traumatizing any more. The effects are certainly still a problem, however.

There was another key event a few years after the initial one. So it seems to me that I have 2 events leading to PTSD, and multiple events leading to CPTSD, though I can trace all the CPTSD events down to a single root problem.

Is anybody else in a similar situation? I'm concerned about making my situation worse by bad therapy. I'm not really sure what techniques should be used to unravel this mess, and which ones are going to aggravate it. I've had bad experiences with therapy already, which has made me guarded.

Rainagain

I can relate to your situation Jazzy.

For me the key thing about the traumas I have experienced is whether they were deliberately inflicted by another or not.

The deliberate interpersonal ones led to cptsd, the rest gave me PTSD earlier in life.

Revictimisation is common, I think my existing PTSD gave the excuse to my abusers to treat me badly.

I worried about therapy too, we have high anxiety so worry is constant.

I found I needed to be in a calm enough head space for therapy to help, therapy during crisis didn't help me, I couldn't engage fully as my amygdala was shouting over everything.

If it was an easy fix we would have worked it out for ourselves and moved on.

I think cptsd is the mt  Everest of counselling, that is why so many of us have had poor experiences.


ah

Quote from: Rainagain on December 10, 2017, 11:12:26 AM

For me the key thing about the traumas I have experienced is whether they were deliberately inflicted by another or not.
The deliberate interpersonal ones led to cptsd.


:yeahthat:

DecimalRocket

It's common for trauma to repeat itself in similar ways. Those who have been abused often abuse themselves in ways that become lasting. This makes them vulnerable, as those easiest to be abused are people like these.

Maybe what's even more damaging is the self abuse we've gotten more than the abuse from others we had — because the abuse from our own inner and outer critics lasts even when we're alone.

Problems can only be solved by finding the root cause, and I haven't did anything about the root cause of my trauma even with years of reading about mental health until recently. What I needed was to be able to trust others and form connections with them — it was well, a lack of love.

Maybe it's the root causes that are the most difficult to confront with trauma.

Rainagain

I have a sketchy idea about sorting out my own head and relieving my cptsd.

Jazzy, I think self help is key, a good therapist is rare and I would treat it as an unexpected bonus.

I am at stage 1 of my plan but it goes something like this:

1. Make yourself safe, if you are not fully post trauma you are not safe.
2. Take time to accept you are safe, once you really know the trauma is in the past you have arrived at safety.
3. Protect your safety, quietly avoid anything or anyone who could cause you a new trauma, act early.
4.show kindness to yourself and others, if others are not kind in return see point 3.
5. Make changes. Alter your life to prove to yourself that things are different, do new stuff, dust off old stuff you used to enjoy. If you have enough difference in your new life it delineates it from the old damaging life. I think my subconscious picks up on stuff like that. I have bought some different clothes from a charity shop, I believe they were previously owned by a 'normal' person so its like a disguise I can put on, I feel different in them, my subconscious is aware.
6.treatment. I am medicated but it doesn't make a huge difference, neither did therapy, I am not relying on treatment to help but others might find it different.
7. Observe the untraumatised and try to copy how they live. I am very observant of others and they respond differently to me. Narrow that gap between me and them by trying to adopt their responses.

I try to trick my amygdala into thinking I'm OK.

That's it so far. I might be totally out there with my plan, please comment or add your own mechanisms, we are all trying our best under very difficult circumstances.

There are so many barriers to recovery, our symptoms, depression, other people. Its a process I think, get back to the path when life pushes you into the ditch.

pit_bull

My experience has been that CPTSD got me the medication and supplements and PTSD got me the social security and long term therapy. As far as I know at least back in 2006 or 2007 the government didn't recognize CPTSD as a disability.

For me personally I don't care what it is I have, I just know that I am filled with self doubt, a lack of confidence, but you'd never know it by watching me, I don't trust my own decisions, I care whether or not people like me, yet I have a hard exterior.