Understanding Complex PTSD (CPTSD): Common Characteristics
CPTSD = Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
CPTSD vs. PTSD
Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) is a lot like PTSD but differs in a crucial way. While PTSD often results from a single traumatic event, CPTSD stems from multiple traumas over time.
Typically, CPTSD survivors have experienced developmental trauma during childhood & additional, secondary trauma(s) in adulthood.
At the time I write this, CPTSD is not currently recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) which means it is NOT covered by health insurance, even though the characteristics of developmental trauma have been well known by researchers & providers for decades.*
Common Characteristics of CPTSD Survivors
In my own recovery journey & in my role as a guide for others, I notice patterns & themes common among CPTSD survivors. Here’s what I often see:
- Relational Betrayal Trauma: Often, the first experience of betrayal trauma comes from caregivers within your family of origin or from trusted authorities at places like school, church, or sports, or other places where trusted authorities had power or oversaw safety.
- Invisible Wounds: Abuse and/or neglect may have occurred, leaving “invisible wounds” that are harder for both survivors & others to see or acknowledge. Without knowledge & understanding, this can lead to misdiagnosis.
- High ACE Scores: Survivors often have higher scores on the Adverse Childhood Events (ACE) Questionnaire. Take Your Ace Test
- Chronic Stress and Medical Issues: Chronic stress over time, without relief, can lead to multiple or severe medical issues, often related to inflammation.
- Coping Behaviors to Escape Pain: Nervous system responses like fight, flight, freeze, fawn, & friend become habituated and color your experience of others & the world. With no one to help, you may have had no choice but to exile hurt & pain away. When that pain activates today, you develop various coping behaviors to escape it or prevent it from happening again.
- Inner Conflicts – Self-doubt, confusion, anxiety, overwhelm: The parts of you that are hurt & the parts that are protecting you often don’t agree on what is best. This creates ongoing self-doubt, confusion, anxiety, overwhelm, and inner conflict—this is all part of the “complexity” of CPTSD.
- Big Energy: Big emotions of fear, shame, anxiety, depression, and anger are common.
- A Strong & Abusive Inner Critic: The voice or message of an abuser or oppressor may become internalized into a strong, abusive Inner Critic.
- Misdiagnosis of Mental Health Conditions: An earlier diagnosis of some other mental health condition (Generalized Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline, etc.) is common, but often doesn’t lead to comprehensive care & can delay more helpful interventions.
- Neurodiversity or Neuro Complexity: Many survivors experience neurodiversity or neuro complexity. Being Highly Sensitive, 2E or gifted, Autistic, ADHD, or AuDHD contributes to feelings of being “too much” or “not enough,” as well as “othered”—are all common wounds traveling with CPTSD.
- Power Struggles: Survivors often struggle with ongoing feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, hopelessness, & victimization or try to power over & control. You may yo-yo or flip & flop between BOTH disempowered states until you regain your seat of personal power.
- Relationship Struggles: Survivors often struggle in relationships due to attachment injuries, making them more vulnerable to trauma-bonded relationships in adulthood. This “adds insult to injury.” The conflict between attachment and authenticity continues until we acknowledge and grief our abandonment wounds. Reclaiming and amplifying your sense of self is crucial. Deep grief often blocks the road to recovery.
- Feeling Behind: Often, we miss many key developmental lessons due to unavailable or misattuned caregiving. This leads to many survivors feeling behind in life, relationships, and work. Critical energy has been spent in survival mode, and trying to catch up or get ahead can ignite an exhausting cycle of hustle and burnout.
This list is NOT exhaustive, but it offers a place to begin increasing understanding and decreasing SHAME.
You Are Not Alone
CPTSD is not your fault. It’s an inherited burden passed down through generations that is still present in the collective. Therefore, it’s more common than you might realize. If learning about CPTSD feels overwhelming, please be gentle with yourself. Remember, this is NOT your fault. No one asks for this. The good news is that recovery is possible when you accept your truth and choose to respond and recover.
The Ripple Effect of Healing
Intervention is most effective when it’s multifaceted, addressing both the individual & their environment (family & systems). This begs the question: if people, places, & systems were held accountable for the abuse of power, how significant would the changes be?
An Invitation to Begin Your Recovery
CPTSD recovery can provide nuggets of gold, downloads of truths, & refined skills for navigating life & relationships in extraordinary ways. Your recovery is not just for you; it’s a gift to your loved ones & future generations.
When you’re ready for a guide who “gets it,” I invite you to reach out to Reset With Renee to schedule your first session
And if you aren’t ready yet, but you’re intrigued, I encourage you to follow me on Social Media and check back often because I’ll be sharing a LOT more about CPTSD.
Resources
*To learn more about this statement see: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, & Body in the Healing of Trauma, Chapter Ten – “Developmental Trauma: The Hidden Epidemic” by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D., 2014.