Hello

[DV]

Hi everyone,

I just recently discovered this forum, and just reading the posts here has been so validating and encouraging. It's amazing to read about other people going through so many things I've struggled with and felt so alone in. I've seen the word "alien" used here by different people and that's exactly how I've felt for so long, like I'm from a different planet compared to most people, and there's no way to explain to "normal" people what it is I go through on a day-to-day basis.

As for how I found out about C-PTSD, well, it's a long story, but basically... I was going through severe burnout (job-related and personal-life related) and reading up on it, and watched a TED talk linking burnout and PTSD, and it was like a million lightbulbs went off in my head. I eventually discovered C-PTSD and believe it's the most accurate description of what I've been going through for a long time.

I think the roots for me were in childhood, with neglect and verbal/emotional abuse from my parents, but I only really experienced most of the really severe C-PTSD symptoms a couple years ago when my personal and work life just got to be too much (a lot of stress at work, increasingly feeling isolated, "friends" abandoning and turning against me, and a bunch of other things I won't go into here, and all of that happening within the span of less than a year).

It's sad and disappointing to me how little is known about C-PTSD, not just by the average person, but even professionals (doctors, mental health professionals, etc.). I hope understanding and awareness of this condition increases dramatically. Who knows how many other people out there are silently suffering with this and being misdiagnosed and mistreated by health professionals.

It's nice to see some progress being made, like the inclusion of C-PTSD as a real condition in the ICD as of 2018, but there's so much more that needs to be done. Most people don't even seem to know anything about PTSD other than it's what "soliders get" and most haven't even heard of C-PTSD. And it's obviously hard to tell people about it when it's still not even something you can be diagnosed with in many places.

There's a lot more I could say about myself and other things, but was planning to save specific things for other posts.

This looks like a good community with a lot of good people, and I'm thankful to have found it.

[Sasha]

Hello DV,

I'm really glad you have found this forum and that it feels helpful. It has made such a difference to my life too, in that I feel like there are people experiencing a similar thing to me.

I find it interesting to hear you relate burnout to the stronger emergence of CPTSD (if I've got that right?). I have seen the TED talk you mention and it is a good one. In that same session I also watched a talk about gaslighting which was really helpful and validating.

I'm sorry that we have all had trauma, but I am glad and grateful that this resource is here.

Are there any new posts you have read that have been particularly insightful? Sometimes I'm not sure where to read or look, so would be interested to hear what has got you thinking.

All the best,
Sasha x

[Blueberry]

  Welcome to the forum DV!

[DV]

Thanks for the welcome Blueberry

Hi Sasha,

Glad to hear you heard that TED talk too and thought it was good.

Yes, I think I'd agree with what you said, that the burnout essentially made the C-PTSD worse. I went through a lot of other difficulties in my childhood besides just issues with my parents, and developed quite severe depression/anxiety in my teenage years, but it was only much more recently that I started experiencing other big C-PTSD symptoms like significant sleep disturbance. Although thinking about it more now, I actually had a lot more of the C-PTSD symptoms at a younger age than I had previously realized (e.g. difficulty with regulating emotions).

It's an interesting question why some people experience burnout and others don't, even in seemingly similar situations. I can't pretend to understand it all, but I think it's definitely possible that some roots of trauma often exist in people who end up developing what's typically described as burnout (mostly in a job-related sense, but can be more general of course).

Hard to say what posts have stood out to me most or been the most helpful, there's really been a lot. But probably what's resonated with me most are the posts in the relationships section... things like hypervigilance, and just difficulty in being around other people is something that's been a big difficulty in my life and not something I really heard talked about much by other people before (i.e. it seems fairly specific to survivors of trauma).

In terms of what's personally gotten me thinking most, though... well, quite a lot of things, really, over the last year or so. I've been seeing a naturopathic doctor for a while and being treated for what's commonly called adrenal fatigue. I don't know if you've looked into that condition at all, but it's quite interesting in how it often shows up in burnout and similar conditions, and all the negative health effects it has.

I've been taking some supplements for a while that the ND recommended (B-complex, Vitamin D, DHEA, 5-HTP) and have found them help me to feel better to some degree. Also just reducing stress levels in general has been helpful... of course, the feasibility of that really depends on a person's individual situation as to how much they're able to do that, but I've thankfully had a fair bit of freedom there.

[CannaKris]

I'm new too! Nice to meet ya!! I've battled this my whole life.

[Boatsetsailrose]

Hi dv
Thank you for sharing I relate to such a lot of what you share.
Reaching a rock bottom has been my experience this past 2 yrs and learning about cptsd - getting a diagnosis support the forum here and reading have been my saving grace.
Yes a lot of people don't know about the disorder and I guess don't have a need to. We get to educate people hey and that has been empowering for me to keep speaking it.
Here in the UK cptsd is becoming more conscious in the minds of professionals and Ive seen more training coming since the icd inclusion which is just fabulous..
Wishing you all the best on the next stage of your recovery dv