People who have had a traumatic experience may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a mental health disorder that can present with a host of symptoms. Complex PTSD, a newly recognized disorder, is similar to PTSD but with distinct differences.
Complex PTSD is treatable, with three distinct stages of recovery that occur during the treatment process.
Complex PTSD is a disorder that occurs after repeated trauma, which is what distinguishes it from PTSD, which can occur after only a single traumatic incident. Complex PTSD causes stress responses, such as anxiety, flashbacks, avoidance of reminders of the trauma, and difficulty with relationships.
Complex PTSD has the same core symptoms as PTSD, which include:
Complex PTSD has additional symptoms that include:
Studies have shown that traumatic stress causes permanent changes in your brain’s chemistry and structure, affecting three parts of the brain.
These changes occur over time as the trauma repeatedly occurs. Examples of prolonged trauma that can lead to Complex PTSD include:
Recovery from Complex PTSD has three distinct stages.
People with Complex PTSD have difficulty feeling safe, both within themselves and in relationships. Treatment at this stage involves learning skills to cope with these feelings, and to self-soothe. It also involves learning to understand the brain’s mechanisms and why the trauma caused you to feel unsafe. The goal of all of this is to put you in a more stable state in which you can feel confident in ensuring your own safety.
For people who are still experiencing the trauma that led to Complex PTSD, such as those in a domestic violence situation, treatment also includes creating a personal safety plan.
The second stage of recovery can begin only after you’ve learned to self-soothe and regulate your intense emotions. This stage involves putting your trauma experiences into words with your therapist and making sense of them.
Four main goals drive treatment at this stage.
Your therapist will do exercises with you to help you meet these goals, and you’ll learn coping skills that will help you to move forward.
At this stage, you’ve reached a point of acceptance of your experiences. You acknowledge that they occurred and affected you, but you understand that they do not have to define the course of your life. You can now start to take concrete steps toward your future based on your life goals. The trauma is in your past, but you can live with the memory and not let it affect what you want to achieve. Essentially, the trauma is integrated within you, and you’ve reconnected with who you are as a person.
As you move forward, you’ll use the skills that you’ve learned to challenge your negative thoughts and emotions and to cope with life’s stressors in a healthy way.
At this stage, you should also move forward in terms of relationships without fear. You can practice forming relationships and maintaining and improving existing relationships.
Since Complex PTSD was only recently recognized as a disorder, you may have some difficulty finding a therapist who specialized in its treatment. You may be able to get a referral from your primary care physician, or you can reach out to NEMG for resources.
If you believe that you may be suffering from Complex PTSD, there is no shame in seeking help. Therapy is a process, sometimes a long one, but it’s a road worth traveling. You’ll follow the stages, learning how to feel safe again, accepting what happened to you, and taking steps to move forward with your life. Remember, the trauma that you’ve experienced does not have to define you, and you can move forward into the life that you choose.
