Is CPTSD curable or not?

[Ayisha]

Thank you for responding to my message a couple of weeks ago. You disagreed with my belief that CPTSD is incurable. I am only of this opinion because my psychiatrist has told me that it is incurable. He believes that with good therapy and medications great improvement can be achieved, but one never really recovers from CPTSD developed by childhood trauma.
Please let me know why you believe CPTSD is incurable.  Do you have evidence about this? If so, it would put things in a whole new perspective for me (and others).
Kind regards
Ayisha

[Three Roses]

You should definitely listen to your psychiatrist when it comes to your individual treatment. Each person's case of cptsd is unique to them.

There is lots of new information about the brain's ability to heal from trauma, which is an injury and not an incurable disease. A search on google for "neuroplasticity" will give you more info, but here's one link to start you off: https://www.nicabm.com/brain-how-does-neuroplasticity-work/

[woodsgnome]

I feel that it's not totally curable, and hope I'm wrong. Still the reality for me has been that even at a safe distance in time and locale I'm still affected so much it  feels like I'm in leftover shock and can't just shake it off. Then I work on things, and somehow the messy parts (triggers, Ef's, dissociation) sneak back in of their own accord.

I've learned to accept that, albeit a bit reluctantly, while still hoping I'm wrong. Meanwhile, what can I do? Heal. And heal after that ... then some more. At least I'll feel better, and perhaps better prepared for the next unwanted, surprising invasion of symptoms.

Still I also live with the experience that belief in recovery isn't the key; that just being me is all I have. The good part of that is I'm discovering, via therapy and other means (mostly reading) that I'm alright as I am, but the injuries encountered were enormous and need extreme care in the healing process. Maybe that attitude represents at least a partial cure?

I can drive myself nuts about it, or just continue on the path of healing as best I can while staying open to discovering that other route not just away, but out of the pain, free at last.

[Three Roses]

Totally agree with you, WG. For myself at least, I doubt that I'll ever be free of all the symptoms but they are becoming more manageable.

In my mind it's like any other injury; your chance of "recovery" is based on many variables, i.e. how old the person was when the injury occurred, how often the injury was repeated, etc. Since my injuries began when I was pre-verbal and continued for decades, my chances of total healing are less likely than, say, someone whose injuries began in adulthood and only continued relatively briefly.

I hope no one feels demeaned by my saying that. I don't mean to discount anyone's pain and suffering, just that the chances and level of recovery are different from person to person.

As I understand it, it's not the cptsd itself that is an "incurable type", it is the extent of the injuries that diminish the chance of recovery. I think it's disheartening to label cptsd incurable, as I think many of us certainly have a good chance of acquiring some level of healing. And of course it comes with work, you can't just wait for it to heal over like a scab.

I'd also like to say I've heard lots of forum members express their dismay at the lack of trauma-informed health care providers and treatment options out there. Psychiatrists included.