What is Complex PTSD?

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) is a mental health condition related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The two conditions share some symptoms, such as flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, avoidance, and hyperarousal. However, C-PTSD is often accompanied by additional symptoms, including difficulty regulating emotions, negative self-view, significant relationship difficulties.

While PTSD originates from a single traumatic event, C-PTSD is caused by complex trauma. Complex trauma refers to trauma that persists over an extended period, from months to years. Trauma leading to C-PTSD typically occurs during the vulnerable stages of one’s life, such as childhood or adolescence and is often inflicted by those that are supposed to be providing physical and emotional support such as parents and/or other caregivers. Common sources of this trauma include child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, witnessing domestic violence, or any similar event where an individual is under the control of another person and unable to easily escape.

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For Further Information

Complex Trauma Podcast Episode [ACCFS]
Sometimes PTSD cannot be traced back to a single event. Rather, for a person with a web of traumatic events in their past and present, PTSD is a state of “normal”. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kathy Knochel and Brian Sutter teach us what complex PTSD is.

Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection: 50 Client-Centered Practices
Author: Deb Dana
This book provides therapists with a grab bag of polyvagal-informed exercises for their clients, to use both within and between sessions. These exercises can be helpful for bringing healing to one’s nervous system which is impacted as the result of trauma.

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma 
Author: Bessel van der Kolk
This 464-page book provides a comprehensive look at what trauma is and the many ways it afflicts the lives of human beings.  After making trauma and its fallout more understandable, the author charts a path for healing for trauma survivors.  This is an excellent book for individuals who want to better understand and support a loved one who has experienced trauma.

Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Therapists 
Author: Janina Fisher
Traumatic experiences leave a “living legacy” of effects that often persist for years and decades after the events are over. This book provides step-by-step strategies, simple diagrams, and worksheets for trauma survivors as they navigate understanding their symptoms and reactions.

 

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