C PTSD 1. Physical Symptoms 2. Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness 3. You feel isolated from others 4. Disruption in different parts of your life 5. Depression and anxiety 6. Overly suspicious of others 7. You appear unpredictable or emotional 8. You aren't much of a joiner 9. You always expect the worst 10. You have a hard time trusting others 11. You feel like no one understands you
@@alycefrench5753 me too girl, me too. I just have to find good mental health doctors that will listen to me and not just throw medication at me and expect it'll make everything better
What i hate most with it is not knowing anything anymore, when to eat or drink, what to eat or drink, what to watch on tv, whether i even want to do something or not. It’s exhausting just trying to make the smallest of decisions.
I'm having that trouble too. I'm finally in counseling and was trying to explain today how I struggle with the smallest decisions or tasks. That nothing is easy and straightforward anymore. My counselor is pretty good, but it's hard to be patient with the process when you're drowning. However, being able to talk through things with someone has helped me feel more hopeful about my life. I hope you can find some help or someone to listen and show support. Personally I find it difficult to explain to most people, but there are people out there who will understand. If you're not eating well, try to have a couple of basics on hand that are nutritious, such as chicken soup, and something with electrolytes like Gatorade or pedialite. I usually only eat that way when I'm sick, but it's also good if you're struggling to eat or stay hydrated.
I feel that down to bones. The first day after I left my 31 year marriage to a covert narcissist, my daughter offered to take me to lunch. As she pressed me to decide where I wanted to eat, I couldn't. I ended having a full blown melt down in a parking lot. Just to be clear, she wasn't trying to be mean or rude, she just knew what her father was like and was trying to give me the freedom to choose When every single decision you've ever made for 31 years has been wrong, selfish, stupid, inconsiderate, or ignorant even picking food seems monumental. It will be a year next month and I'm still struggling with trying to figure out the rest of my life. I'm paralyzed with fear knowing I have some really big choices to make in the next year. Wish me luck! I wish you all the best, both of you. We all deserve to be well. We'll get there..
Maybe flylady could be helpful, you get schedules a lot and you do not have to decide every little thing but there is a plan. It helps. Also, if you struggle with decisions what to eat, may I suggest, you could make a plan that is always repeating. Like Monday: Boiled potatoes (make a batch, boil them in their peel in saltwater, peel the cooked potatoes all at once and cut them into smaller pieces) with spinach (carrots or whatever you like) and sunny side up. Tuesday: leftover potatoes made into fried potatoes with a green salat. Wednesday and Thursday: one-pot stew or casserole, maybe with some toasted bread. And so on. You can eat the same kind of breakfast every day. Lets say: an egg and granola with berries. It might work better if you make your plan, print or write it and hang it on the fridge.
@@HFTLHKeep going, you will get there. Do you exercise at all? I started walking about a year ago and it has been an incredible help to me. I meditate, journal, eat healthy and of course walk, and I see a counsellor and they are all incredibly important. As a result of this I start a new job after 13 years out of work.
I suffer from very severe cptsd. I barely remember my life. And im so stressed that i just keep losing memories. C-ptsd is horrible to deal with. I've been told by my therapist that I have surprisingly good coping skills and that I could've turned out a lot worse.
are you still able to work? i had so many problems recently with keeping a job. i feel like my childhood trauma is always going to come with me. i’ve been working on personal substance use issues due to not dealing with my trauma. idk sorry i haven’t met anyone in person that gets it
Can emphasize. I constantly fear to be judged because I can't for the life of me tell you what ... for example I talked about yesterday with a friend. Episodal memory is an absolute mess.
The biggest misconception by those who don't understand is the belief that PTSD is exclusively suffered by veterans. PTSD by definition is the result of ANY traumatic experience. Assault, neglect, or as is my case, witnessing death first hand, just to name a few.
As someone with CPTSD from grief and childhood verbal abuse, I can attest to this; trauma, like so many things, does not only come in one colour. Watching a loved one slowly decease is in some ways far worse than one sudden moment of trauma; it stays with you far more vividly, as there is such an immense amount of material for the horrible memory to accumulate from. It’s not the same as a sudden death; those are shocking, and terrible, but brief in happening. With at-the-time incurable diseases, you have to watch as they pass in a slow and horrible way over months or even years, and in the case of dementia, they seem to have died long before they’ve even stopped breathing. It’s the slow burning fuse that detonates the most brutal of explosives.
I just recently brought up ptsd to my therapist because a friend who I’ve known for years suggested I may have it. I told my therapist I didn’t think it was true because I thought it was something only veterans got. My therapist told me she had been suspecting I have complex ptsd for a handful of sessions already based on what I’ve told her & we’re going to go more into it next session.
Lol I'm not sure what to say. But if I'm suspicious about the possibility. Should I finally get a therapist? A lot of friends have said that I should consider getting one. Not sure if that's a bad thing or not thow?
Now I finally understand why cutters do what they do. I never did that but sometimes I wonder why they are demonized as “unhealthy” when they are in fact acting cathartically and trying to deal with their pain in ways that many of us never do.
@@billyb4790 Because harming yourself physically does not adress the underlying problem. As Citizen Soldier verbalized it so aptly in their song "ICU": "You've been carving maps into your skin. To make the sickness show" Because its horrible to have to suffer in silence. We need our pain to be witnessed by someone. Validation is a totally normal human need but sadly, THAT and "attention" is, what the naysayers are demonizing, even tho human connection is the thing we are craving the most. And then, maybe they are also demonizing it because they are terrified to be reminded of their own demons inside.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON...SHOULD HAVE PRINTED, THESE VERY WORDS, IN HIS WRITINGS, ..and HIS, "NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL of POETRY"... NOBODY, COULD HAVE SAID THIS BETTER !!!:)
I feel its important to note that "Flashbacks", as they are portrayed in classical media, are most of the time not part of the CPTSD experience. The flashbacks are even strikingly dissimilar to PTSD, as it is often comprised of a fragmented experience. E.g. you suddenly start to smell something that isnt there, or you start to feel an emotion that is persistent but absolutely unrelated to the current situation. Patients often have problems identifying these experience as a flashback or even feel like being some sort of impostor because they think, they have no flashbacks or because their experience doesn't match the widespread symptom descriptions. It is important to note that - as with many things in life - symptoms can be a highly individual experience and should not be interpreted as invalidation. As someone who is currently on a healing journey from CPTSD, I would have wished someone could have explained this to me sooner. The self doubt was devastating and detrimental to the healing process.
Yes thank you so much for that. It actually makes me mad when I see such cheesy and simplistic versions of flashbacks on tv. For a long time I thought I had none then I realized I have them every moment of the day. So thank you 🙏
@@billyb4790 > every moment of the day Yeah. That realization happened in a two stage manner for me. The realization that MOST of what I feel is from the past instead of the present only happened three years after realizing that I do have flashbacks in the first place. Its absolutely worst when someone comes in to give some hope, and it does absolutely nothing because you emotionally still feel like you are existing right in one of the moments, that broke your soul a little more. Intellectually and physically in the 'present' (whatever that is...) but with invisible, thick ties, that go through time and bind you and pull you back. Thats why the concept of "healing", no matter how attractive the prospect of lessening the pain, also has an upsetting quality to it. It upsets the four year old boy who is right now experiencing being broken by a person who is supposed to protect him, because he needs you and is scared that "healing" would mean to cut the ties that rope you to him through time, leaving him alone and abandoned back in time in a black void (which is not true, but that doesn't matter to him) And then I often get confused about whom of the two persons I actually am - my past self or my present self. The latter can easily temporarily disappear when the past self is "active". Umm sorry, that's just my take on how a CPTSD flashback can feel. One possible aspect. Your mileage may vary.
@@unlovabledeadsquirrel I can relate to your comment so much. It really makes me so sad, makes me wish i never had to go through anything. I lost the teenage years of my life, and up to a certain point i think i also lost myself, my personality, i started forgetting my hobbies and the things i liked, and before i could realize, all that was left of me was a scared and sad teen. All these years ive tried so hard to bring myself back, i kinda did bring myself back actually, but i can never stop feeling that only a part of me came back, some part of me really died and stayed dead, The flashbacks ive been experiencig these months are so overwhelming i cant even explain it, it feels like suddendly im gonna lose all of my progress, theyre so damn intense i can actually feel how my body and my mind shut down to a survival state whre i cant function no more, and cant even think myself out of it. The only way i can (sometimes) cope with it, is when my body makes me fall asleep during these flashbacks even if im not slightly tired, or when i get dissociated and numb as hell. After years of progress its been really getting tough lately, ill still try tough, its just that i feel like my soul doesnt want this no more, like im giving up from the inside. I ve done everything that i could and even more. Ive been fighting for a better life for myself, but theres just so much hopelesness, i feel so overwhelmed against this. I really deserved better.
@@rafaga1106 I'm really sorry that you have to go through this as well. The only thing that has helped me in those situations was active inner child work. Like really getting in touch, and 'care' for the child like you wished someone would have cared for you back then. Not just take a bubblebath. But actively imagine how it would be a soothing activity for your younger self. Imaginative exercises with loving inner helpers feel quite powerful too, if not even more. Combine it with emotional music that speaks to you. Get those emotions out so they are visible. Experience them with full force. The worst thing we can do is to numb them out. Thats how we landed here in the first place. These things are sadly no magic recipe, they wont always work, and they don't last, until we get further along on the 'healing path'. I know my reply above this reads as if I should better follow this one myself. I do. Its just that being in a flashback is as if nothing you ever did to get better mattered. But it looks like, sadly, you know exactly what I mean.
As a person who suffers from CPTSD, it is dreadful to live with. Having flashbacks every day and barely able to function in life. I suffered a ton of emotional abuse and bullying growing up and it still hurts me to this day...
I actually get stressed very easily whenever I make someone mad or sad or if they yell at me I get stressed then and my heart will start hurting I don't do the fun things I used to do I don't even remember them anymore from my bad memory I actually don't trust anyone enough to tell them what I have I bet they won't even listen I tried with different ways to see their reactions my family's and they say stupid stuff I only trust one person that has the same and I try my best to repay him even though it's not enough. I often get dizzy and have flashback I almost fainted some times but I hope all of u guys to get better
I want you to pause and thank yourself. You’re still here, you’re fighting and you’re trying to cope. You’re trying your best to resolve your trauma, so thank yourself for doing so. Don’t be mean to yourself, you’re trying your best! You’re extremely courageous and gorgeous and brave, never forget that!!! I want you to be proud of yourself.
@godhelpme369 i really needed to uplifting message because I was really feeling like no one understood my struggles I am glad I am not alone and there are kind people out in the world that care about the well-being of others. You are my motivation to keep going and never give up in life
Timestamps 1). Physical symptoms 1:04 2). Feeling of worthlessness or hopelessness 1:27 3). You feel isolated from others 1:51 4). Disruption in different areas of your life 2:13 5). Depression and anxiety 2:38 6). You're overly suspicious of others 2:58 7). You appear unpredictable or emotional 3:19 8). You aren't much of a joiner 3:39 9). You always expect the worst 4:00 10). You have a hard time trusting others 4:19 11). You feel like no one understands you 4:45 Hope this helps you out. Hope you have a nice day. Sorry this is so late. 💙💙💙💙💙💙
Hey Psych2Go! My name is Ace, as of today, you guys have brought me enough strength to go out and ask for help. It surely wasnt easy, but i managed. I appreciate you guys very much, and if i didnt watch or find your channel, i would be getting worse and worse. Thank you so much!
Hi Ace, this is such a beautiful comment. Thank you for letting us know our work has made a positive impact on you. We're really proud of you reaching for help. Just know that, you're not alone and there are people out there really care about you. It takes time to see any results. Keep on striving!
The information u give me of all of the videos u make made me realize what I actually have I appreciate it ty for all the good advice u gave me and others
@@Psych2go hey guys my name is Peter the videos you guys post on PTSD have helped me a lot during my struggles with anxiety and whenever I need cheering up I know I am not the only one suffering in silence. I hope your channel continues to grow and continues to spread awareness about ptsd and how to find help to also help others affected by it . I never thought I would find help until I came across your channel and I am glad I did because I know I am not alone in the battle. I am now talking to my therapist and working on my recovery to get my life back on track. Thanks again you guys saved my life
Oh gosh, I can relate to this-feel like therapy can be helpful (only so much imo-but I am also autistic and not sure traditional CBT is more me-but then again, I have always had trouble being COMPLETELY open with things because of trust issues in general with therapists).
I’ve done tons of research on this and believe I might have it. I hate having to avoid things I love just because they’re linked to bad memories. I told some trusted people and they have been very understanding and that comforts me.
CPTSD honestly should have its own category in the DSM. For me, it's hard even to READ BOOKS because if I encounter anything that reminds me of my CPTSD, just having the visualizations is a nightmare.
All these signs were relatable to me. All my traumas are caused by events where I've been backstabbed or abandoned by people i thought were my friends, being emotionally abused by them, and even receiving personal threats against myself.
I don't know your situation... but I know how that feels :(. Everyone that claims to be a friend has ended up backstabbing, ghosting, ignoring me etc. I've been lucky to make two friends at least. There's nothing wrong with me socially, and I'm super talkative... but now I'm just always scared of people. I just can never tell someone's intentions anymore and it almost makes me paranoid. You're not alone in this fight. Good vibes your way❤
i have this same problem over years,i trust them easy,doubt them if someone say bad about them,even if confront its difficult to talk or ask,its worse of me expect.I hate my regions values that destroyed me even traumaized.
Being a first responder, I've been diagnosed with multiple C-PTSDs, currently being treated for some of them. It's a rough road... but you eventually learn how to cope with it. Life ain't sunshine and rainbows, there is no cure from PTSDs, but with the right treatment and the right pills, you slowly learn to get back to normal. So anyone there with it, there's always hope, but know that you'll live with these memories for the rest of your life anyway... there's no magic wand that makes you forget.
@@deanh1627 Ho I know. I hate living on pills, but they're there to help stabilize some stuff that my brain doesn't secrete as much as it should, until I get back more like ''normal''. I can't wait to stop taking those, but anti-anxiety / Anti depressant are a must when you're unstable mostly in the early stages. Also, I need medication just to get asleep... those are the kind I'm the most worried about, because, now I truly need them to get asleep. I'll have to slowly stop them when I'll get there...
There are beautiful and natural solutions. I highly recommend going out into nature as much as possible. Those who have lost their lives that you have witnessed are now as free as the singing birds, flowing creeks, rustling leaves, and scented flowers. Connect with nature in any form. You'll feel the magic and start to heal. These are words of a Native American who undergoes regular stress. I always free myself and put everything into grand perspective. Thank you for your service in saving others.
And how can you forget when so many people won't let you forget, on a daily basis constantly reminded of past events... 6 1/2 years of this to date.. every day is a pain day!
having c-ptsd means things can come from seemingly nowhere, causing panic attacks, overreactions or other behaviors that i'm slowly learning to deal with. decades of not knowing what was wrong was creating an even larger problem: wondering about my sanity. now that i have an idea of what's going on with me, i can work with it and recognize symptoms, and create strategies to work with it, along with medications that moderate my moods. it's much better now, but i still have a long way to go.
I’m 31 now. I can’t remember my childhood, I lose my iPhone at least 3 times a day, and while I was growing up I had dreams of being in particular place with specific person. At age 16 I had a realization of what happened to me when I was in 2nd grade, it clicked & had flashback, connected my dreams which were memories, that an older girl that lived near me had molested me in her house while I was over there with no parental vision. She made me do things that no children should be doing.
I'm so sorry. I have a friend who described something similar and had amnesia. It's heartbreaking the things that happen to children. I hope things get better for you.
I suffer from this. I was diagnosed with Social PTSD, due to abuse and being abandoned and betrayed from childhood to adulthood... Its a form of CPTSD from what I can tell... and yes, I avoid people I don't know unless I use a security blanket tactic to deal with them. Even then it doesn't last for a long time so I have to rush social situations unless I'm using roleplay. Which only is done online. In person, it's harder and leaves me unable to have a, 'normal job'. I hate it, and I hate that people don't understand which only makes me feel worse. Leaving me feeling like I'm the problem for just not trying hard enough. I want it to stop... I can't even take the meds I need anymore due to a situation outside my control. So I'm stuck worse than I was before. PTSD is no joke in any form but people are so misinformed about it and forget there's not only multiple forms, but that women suffer from it differently than men. To where when I say I don't have flashbacks, which those are less common in women, people think it means I don't have it. Even if I have been diagnosed. You don't need to have visual and audio flashbacks to have it. For me, if someone I don't know runs towards me, I immediately back up quickly, bring my arms up in a defensive fear and flinch and whimper. I will remain scared until they back off and get far enough away from me, or just leave me alone entirely. Which even then I need time to calm down... PTSD isn't just for vets people... Nor is it cookie cutter copy paste. Nor can we control it. We are stuck like this, we just learn ways to cope.
Supporting a friend with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) requires active listening, validation of their feelings, and respecting their boundaries. Patience is key as recovery is a journey, and self-care is crucial for both you and your friend. By practicing empathy and understanding, while also prioritizing your own well-being, you can provide meaningful support throughout their healing process.
I was diagnosed with C-PTSD after being in an abusive marriage for 18 years. I still deal with it 11 years later. It contributed to my 2nd divorce and many failed relationships. I avoid crowds and doing things I used to love doing.
I've been dealing with C-PTSD symptoms my entire life. There's a bit of ADHD in there too. I've finally reached a point where I'm not in constant fight or flight mode anymore, which is definitely a good thing. Now I'm struggling with retraining and reconditioning myself. It's really hard to break some old habits. I've also been doing research into the connections between C-PTSD and other mental health issues such as Autism, ADHD, and a few others. Come to find out, the reason why they're so hard to diagnose is because they all affect the same regions of the brain 🧠. The research is still really new and they're making new discoveries all the time. It's really interesting and insightful if anyone is curious about it. Would definitely recommend looking into it
As someone with cPTSD and several other disorders, I think cPTSD is the worst to deal with of every disorder I have. About a year ago, for example, I was playing a game with some friends. One of our usuals couldn't make it, so a friend brought in one of their friends as a substitute. This person's callous harshness towards me (accusing me of doing things I didn't do, not listening to me trying to explain what I did instead, etc) made me spiral because of it's similarity to the childhood that left me with cPTSD in the first place. I had to leave that group's gaming sessions for literal MONTHS while this was being dealt with. MONTHS. All because ONE PERSON infiltrated the place I let myself be vulnerable and attacked me without fault of my own. This is why I can't trust people. This is why I desperately cling to what I have. Because I feel like I'm not good enough to earn a place elsewhere. Because I've tried, and failed. Because my PTSD episodes flare up and cause me to be unavailable or at least volatile. Because I know to expect the worst, because it can and does happen simply since I'm so misunderstood. How can I fit in anywhere that doesn't understand me? Maybe if I was better, people would make the effort, but I'm not and they don't and I just don't belong anywhere. The invasive thoughts kick in minutes after waking up and ruin my whole day, and everyone always just thinks I'm overreacting. And this doesn't even get into the overlap with my other disorders. And it's truly heartbreaking when people are just like "did you go to war? No? Then you don't have PTSD, shut up, the problem is that your parents didn't beat you enough!" I just want people like that to stop breathing. Let me suffer in silence without piling even more abuse on top. Freaking hell.
Please read the book: Complex PTSD by. Pete Walker. I believe the book will help you a lot. Toxic shame and Emotion Flashback is the worst to deal with, but you can heal.
It's both helpful and distressing to find out about more and more things that are weighing me down. I can work more easily on getting better, the more I understand about my condition, but at the same time, the pile of problems seems to be getting bigger and bigger. It started with understanding my depression many years ago, then it was about learning of different aspects like dissociating, then I realized that I'm not introverted but had been suffering from social anxiety for a long time. Now, during the past year or so, I finally realized that my childhood didn't only leave me with lots of emotional wounds and seperate traumatic event memories, but with CPTSD. I've already lost so much time due to the things that happened, and it's still far from over. Sometimes, I feel like there will not be much time left to truly enjoy life after finally recovering.
I totally relate to this dude, I get it. Trying to live with chronic trauma and CPTSD can feel like standing up in a windstorm, or like you're at the bottom of a well and the way out looks too high up and too steep to even bother trying. But it's comments like this that remind me I'm not alone. It does sometimes feel like life will always just be filled with hard things but I'm trying to learn to soak in good moments between the big bad things, you know? Sometimes that's easier said than done, but we can try together. :)
I understand too. Have felt the same way. Took me 10 years since my divorce to get counseling because it was so hard for me to trust or reach out, or even recognize how much I needed help.. And I'm still dealing with the childhood stuff. I had the same realization about not being an introvert. I'm just afraid of people. It's hard, but I believe it's always worth it to keep fighting. Don't let the demons win.
Have you personally dealt with C-PTSD or know someone who has that could benefit from this video? Please consider liking, sharing and commenting to help raise awareness! Watch our previous video: Your Past Trauma Is Triggered & Ways To Heal (PTSD and CPTSD) th-cam.com/video/QrnqDWLmHSA/w-d-xo.html As always, consult with a qualified mental health professional to further support you on your journey.
Thanks for this Psych2Go. I was diagnosed with Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is from serving in the military and being near a mass shooting in 2009 😢. I have a therapist who I currently see. I still have flashbacks from my deployments and the incident.
I've only been diagnosed with OCD and Schizophrenia but can relate to all of these. My doctor is clearly invalidating and hiding my trauma from me and acts like nothing ever happened to me. He even tried to undertake my OCD diagnosis even though he gave 2 serotonin drugs before meeting another psychiatrist "to get the" diagnosis of Schizophrenia. How ridiculous? Thanks for this video. I will certainly do something against my psychiatrist. I convinced my father how ill treating he is and will leave that bugger. Also, when I asked the reasons behind getting these illnesses, he blatantly said no there's no reason you just got it although I'd a very traumatic past in the school.
After my time in the army 3 years ago, i had all of these and still do. I never thought I had something like ptsd or cptsd, after the Sargent threatened my life and continued to put me down and single me out, over paper..i never actually did anything wrong, i got depressed and started contemplating suicide and still do everyday. I was injured and couldn't really do much and after i left they lied and denied my compensation and its been hard to live with everything. I haven't gotten better and honestly I think about taking my life a lot. I wish i never met Sargent Burleson or ever joined the army. I just wanted to some good. Now im broken beyond repair.
So sorry to hear what you’ve been through. That sounds really horrendous! Is there a support group nearby that you can attend? I’m sure there must be a few out there that have had similar issues and talking/sharing problems really can make a difference to your mental well being. There are many online therapists these days if you’re not physically able to make it to one, or even mental help hotlines you can call. Please make sure to talk to someone, even just once. I know I’m just some random stranger over the internet, all the way from Australia but I truly wish the best for you after what you’ve been through. Please don’t give up. 🙏🏽
You matter and your life matters! That sergeant was a bully, and it wasn't your fault. Please talk to someone if you haven't already. Talk to God if there's no one else. Even if you don't believe in God, he'll still listen.
I just find it so interesting how everyone has their own struggles and stories.. Some may seem to be worse than others, but that doesn't make it less important.. Trauma makes us who we are, we can grow from it at times, and other times it can leave us in a pit of sadness and want..but yet not knowing what we want.. Yall have a story, none of them should or shouldn't be heard or unheard, we all matter, and never feel less if someone went through more pain and thinks your a big baby or an attention seeker, everyone has a story.. Stories are meant to be told not hidden.
Yeah, this is so true and important for people to realize. Quick rant but growing up I only heard the definitions of trauma to be sexual assault, going to war, or surviving a natural disaster. None of these I had experienced, plus my mom and my best friend in middle school and high school both had way worse childhoods than me- physical, sexual, and emotional abuse for years. So I didn't think I had trauma for the longest time, and couldn't fully wrap my head around why I had such a hard time connecting with the world. It wasn't until I went to therapy that I understood that trauma isn't just the few specific examples I'd grown up hearing, that trauma can be anything very disturbing, stressful, scary, or otherwise overly upsetting, all of which I had lots of, just not in the most common ways you hear about trauma. It's very damaging to believe that your problems "aren't big enough" compared to others. Even if you don't have CPTSD like me, your problems still deserve to be heard, validated, and taken care of however needed.
My past doctors had issues diagnosing if I had PTSD or CPTSD, but after watching this I feel like it's CPTSD. I'm healing from it either way, but it's been a process.
My daughter has had this for 7 years and has finally found someone who has what looks like and what we're really hoping is a cure. I won't put what the cure is since it can be different for everyone. But I write this to say if you have this keep going, keep searching for the health professionals that can give your type of help. ❤
2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with CPSTD, which honestly surprised me. I refused the fact of having my own trauma, often downplaying it since my trauma was never physical. I have been given many different titles from psychiatrists and therapists, though none really fit perfectly. Bipolar II, BPD, schizotypical, MDD, and general anxiety, which I only matched some characteristics. Since I had refused my trauma, no one knew what was wrong with me. "Surely a personality disorder?" No one saw the signs, and only after years of therapy, could I get an official diagnosis I fully sync with.
I have c-ptsd since a young age with bad sleeping, barely any trust in most things/people on top of being a INFJ-T with photographic memory… at the moment trying therapy (which most don’t work) and it’s a struggle and I hope 1 day, I find awnsers to deal with it easier…
What most don’t explain is that flashbacks are overlayed or projected onto a current person / situation that may have characteristics that remind you of the traumatic past (colors, crowds, mannerisms, etc) and mixes in with the current reality, experiencing it like it’s the same situation come back around again on your life now. This makes for confusion and launching back into sense of helplessness, fight or flight survival behaviors. Not only does a person need to be taught the skillset to step back & separate what’s real vs past to help rewire new experiences, but also the skillsets to manage having to go through the survival response reactions.
I am sure I have C-PTSD, but after some major life-changing traumatic events - I feel like I was still rushed through the treatment that I was lucky to even get. I'm not sure what to do anymore given the lack of resources and care I already have gotten, but I definitely wish I could get a better diagnosis or at least care in that area.
I love my husband and his family but lately it's so hard to recall nice memories from my past to share. I came to the realization my memories are tinted with traumatic events. I was treated for depression but now that I'm older i can say that there's something deeper than that.
I dealt with family abuse in the past and my "family" still try to rush me and push me to the edge when it comes to "being successful" i don't need them to be successful, i want to live by myself and take my time with my success and finally have some peace in my life without worrying about my "family" trying to hurt me
I never understood why I had so many problems in my life until my mother’s hospice nurse told me I have c-ptsd.Everything made so much since after that.Atleast I can recognize triggers now and I want to get professional counciling. 🙏🏻♥️
I don’t think so. PTSD is usually from one traumatic event, like some one seeing their children murdered in front of them, CPTSD is complex because there’s so many different factors over long periods of time, someone seeing their children murdered isn’t less severe, you can have CPTSD from having an emotionally absent parent. It’s nothing about more or less severe, it’s called Complex CPTSD because it’s simply more complex.
Things that happened with a pervious friend group has affected my life so much. I have stupid triggers like toast the other day that gives me anxiety out of nowhere. I’ve also become highly emotional and aggressive. I’ve yelled and disrespected my teachers which I would never dream of doing and my parents. Also coping mechanisms have caused me to get bullied and inhibit normal functioning. I’ve missed too many days of school and have been late every single day. It Sucks.
I actually am currently dealing with Trauma. My stepdad is a nice guy, and I get it, but when he tried to help me get through a stage of my life where I tried to get a career, he was always harsh and given the fact that I am highly emotional, attempted assistance only came off as him telling me what I was doing wrong, and coupled with the fact that multiple times he has lashed out in my direction when his temper got the better of him, even when I had nothing to do with why he was so upset, I have become as the video says, hyper vigilant, always looking over my shoulder, and trying to avoid interactions with him in anything but the most casual of conversations. It even has gotten so bad to where even though my mom has taken his place in trying to help me through difficulties, any reminders about the negative memories I have about the subject cause me to withdraw, and spend my time just trying to forget. I’m still struggling with this trauma, and I don’t know how to work past it, or what the next step is. I have a therapist, but I don’t know how we can even figure out how to do this. And that, is my ongoing story of dealing with trauma.
If you're highly emotional, it's often due to things that happened to you, or growing up not being taught how to regulate emotions in a healthy way. So perhaps your therapist could work with you on that. Also your story about your step dad reminded me a lot of my dad. The temper, the criticism, but also "helping" but usually not in the way I needed. I know my story isn't your story, but you might need some help with confidence building and skill building, so you can get some independence and distance from the source of your trauma. I hope things get better. If your therapist isn't helping you, remember you have a right to look for a better one!
my close friend has both ptsd and c-ptsd, among other conditions related to time in service, and other life events. It has it's challenges being friends with them, but also very rewarding as you can bond with them unlike other friendships; going long times without hearing from them, and having to reassure them regularly is a big part of it. you really do have to accept that the lack of communication for sometimes months at a time is nothing personal and comes with the conditions, despite how much you may worry about it they need their space, but also reaching out at the same time reminding them that you still want them around and you'll listen to them when they need it, but also directing them to resources that you think will help. it's not an easy thing by a long shot but I think it's worth it to me to be able to bond with someone that may feel isolated and/or have lost trust in most people
after about 40 years of healing from childhood abuse (older sibling) gaslighting and scapegoating family, being attacked as a kid by a random man, and domestic abuse as a grown woman : 1. Physical Symptoms - I experienced multiple detached retinas, temporarily blind in both eyes with no other underlying health issues - completely related to not wanting to see things I saw in trauma - the body certainly does keep the score 2. Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness: overachiever, lol 3. You feel isolated from others: pretty active with work - but can still feel isolated because I don't have the usual things people have because of abuse 4. Disruption in different parts of your life 5. Depression and anxiety: not so much now - I have mainly healed this part 6. Overly suspicious of others: sometimes still assume motives and have to catch cognitive distortions 7. You appear unpredictable or emotional: no but still react to injustice and perceived disrespect or narcissism in others 8. You aren't much of a joiner - plenty of groups and social support but as an introvert need LOTS of time alone to regroup with myself and recover from this 9. You always expect the worst: catching catastrophic thoughts and watching when things go well 10. You have a hard time trusting others: definitely trust is a real issue and prefer to be alone just because it is easier 11. You feel like no one understands you: pretty much none has to now - go by the 'let them' approach Even when you're great at healing it still takes a long time with CPTSD compared to PTSD because its relational and core trust bonds are broken
This is so relatable!! I have memory gaps and I get triggered so easily.. especially in intimate relationships, I find it difficult to trust the person no matter what he says or does.. and then I get angry and confrontational which ends up sabotaging my relationship
The hardest symptoms for me involve others- I definitely tend to hermit myself too much. I have a very hard time opening up to people because I'm always afraid I'll overshare and push/scare people away so I'm constantly masking around others, and then I feel like for one, it takes too much energy to keep up the mask, and two, like I'm just living a lie, so I just tend to hole up alone in my room and attempt to soldier through everything alone. And then I think "no one could possibly understand what I've been going through, I'm just so different from them in a way they could never fathom. I'm better off alone." And then I feel like everyone thinks I'm weird and standoffish and nobody likes me, and it's just a whole mess. Living with C-PTSD is hard. The inability to mentally escape the past is difficult. It almost has some similarities to feelings of social anxiety, and I've also had people ask me if I'm autistic or otherwise neurodivergent. I have discussed both possibilities with my therapist and we both agree that I don't meet the full symptoms for either of those, but they have some symptoms that I relate to that overlap with C-PTSD.
I found this video extremely, understanding ...EXACTLY WHAT, ....C-PTSD is all about, from a very early age, of CHILDHOOD ! THANK YOU, for opening up my eyes, to SEE THROUGH, SOMEONE ELSE'S EYES I am VERY GRATEFUL !
Yes have because both of my parents died in front of me i try to stay a way from people and big stores with lots of people in them and nose place. And police car lights and flacesing lights too 😢
i have cptsd, as a child i felt the opposite of almost everything you have said. i dissociated, felt better than others and had no issues making friends..only later my symptoms became more apparent
I am currently dealing with this. I didn't come to the realization until about four years ago when I first started my therapy journey. And it is very difficult to manage all these symptoms espechially when you have convinced yourself that no one is going to understand you fully. Though I have tried to deal with this on my own, I find it hard to tell someone about my cptsd because I don't want to feel like a burden, but, suffering in silence and stuffing down my emotions until they explode, makes it so much harder.
I have CPTSD as a result of physical and emotional abuse as a child. As a result I have spent most of my life in ‘survival mode’ (I’m now 56) The past three years I have been working on myself with the help of a counsellor, and I am now almost completely out of survival mode. It has been incredibly hard work, and I still have work to do but if you are suffering, please don’t give up, if I can do it then so can you. ❤️
I have experienced CPTSD,, though I had only been diagnosed with PTSD. Trauma therapy helped a lot. However with the current political and social climate i find it very difficult to avoid triggers. I do not feel safe in my own town. Isolstion is my enemy, but . . .
I struggle with C-PTSD. I have flashbacks through dreams and I sometimes feel like I am not going to be alright. But I have found coping strategies such as resources with my mental health such as a container or wall. Sometimes I feel like I can't go on but I always find a way out of it.
This is something I've been coming to realize I've been dealing with since working for McDonalds during the Covid lockdown- alot of people I knew were able to work from home, so there was the trauma of being an "essential worker" was something they couldn't relate to and on top of that, there was the fact that atleast 2 members of the management above me made a decision to victimize me personally that made it even worse.
I haven't heard of this, only PTSD until today, which my mom said could be something I possibly have, and watching this I've related to most of these signs. I should get this checked out and I definitely will when I can, it is nice to know why I do/feel the most of the things I do, and it's nice knowing I'm not the only one.
I don't know what I have. I'm self doubting and thinking my abusive ex might be right that I wasn't right defending myself and I'm wrong. He made excessive threats to take my children or that I was to leave them with him but he knows I won't and I'm the one who cares for them daily. I start shaking, sweaty hands and feet, pain in my stomach/wanting to puke. I'm unable to stop shaking and my voice trembles. I have been having trouble sleeping, eating or focusing plus pacing excessively. My abuser never allowed me to relax because I was trained that I'm doing too much of something and just doing that was wrong. I also have severe headaches sometimes and unnatural jaw clenching. What's wrong with me??? Some days are better but then other days I'm back at relieving these symptoms. I still care for my children so I'm thankful God gives me more strength.
This video helped me to understand that probably I had light signs of ptsd in multiple periods of my life, but after lots of time I always managed to heal from it with the help of time, until something really bad happened in my life, I guess I managed to heal partially from it(it took me around 1 year or maybe even more) I think so because I almost don't think about the past too much, even though thinking about some memories of the last days before the disaster happened is still very painful to me, but yet not as painful as it was just a a couple months ago, I managed to overcome my ptsd, but I'm still struggling with depression scince then, and it became even worse when I finally realized that even if i'll manage to return to my home there is just no chance it will stay the same as how I'm remembering it, at first I wanted to turn everything back, but now I just want to die, I'm pretty sure that this is a consequence that occurred because of that
Doing my best to live in the moment now, took much effort. Don't help when people ask why am i still doing my basic job and say i have so much potential, often the same people who take advantage of my non confrontational approach.
Through the past year i believe that i have had many mental health problems and for me that is what has now given me c-ptsd becausei have struggled so so much. 🙂
i had asked a docter (phyc) about having ptsd 3 years ago, I was going through an adhd diagnosis at the time and some bad stuff had happened seperate to that. after 1.5 years i had to remind him for like the 5th time, and he ran me some questions over the phone, and said ' no you dont have, it its just a bad experience' flash foward a year, ive had 5 hospital admissions, some where suspected heart attack, some where my stomach shutting down, no longer making acid and not allowing food to pass through me, a seperate docter sends me back to the mental health place, turns out i have cptsd because of the constant situation and lack of treatment, and the brain damage that comes from being permamantly stuck in fight or flight mode is so sevear it may never be repaired! If you dont agree with your docter get a second oppinion!
Number 12: You feel like there's something inherently wrong with you. That is what usually follows the number 11 'You feel no one understands you' part.
CPTSD is like PTSD, but in some regards even worse; it’s not just a very distinctive set of things happening at once that triggers it, but even just so much as the mere MENTION of a particular word, or seeing a particular thing, particular smells, or sounds. Essentially, any sensory perception has potential triggers, which is worsened when one also is an autist, as then the mind tends to have the very strong pattern recognition working against one, jumping to unpleasant memories from anything that even tangentially relates to it. I speak as someone with CPTSD. It’s not fun.
I was diagnosed with cptsd last year, and recently completed 1 year of therapy. I'm not great, but I am better now then I have been for the past 11+ years. Thankyou for making this video
I have C-PTSD and deal with it to the best of my ability. Medical students should be taught much more about this debilitating condition to better care for their future patients; the understanding and emotional needs of these patients would prevent us who have the malady NOT to be in a constant state of hyper terror, embarrassment of issues which make us “appear needy, ‘neurotic’ and a waste of space”.
I was originally diagnosed with PTSD, then a specialist Domestic Violence Counsellor advised me she believed I actually have C-PTSD. Watching this, I tick all the boxes. My ex, she assaulted me over 100 times, two or three times a week sometimes. How can anyone actually heal from that? I've been single over six years now, having relocated when I was at the brink of a complete physical and mental breakdown, guess I went into survival mode. I literally moved to another part of the UK with a car load of stuff and my cat. And yet I still break down on a daily in floods of tears, which are flowing as I type this. In my head I'm back there, she's sinking her teeth into the end of my nose.This left a scar. I also have M.E and Fibromyalgia, so my life is a living hell. Right now I'm at breaking point, but it seems pointless to seek help, I feel beyond broken. It's worth noting, my ex wasnt my only abusive relationship, but she did the most damage.
hey can you talk about hypervigilance/hyperfocus/hyper independence/hyper fixation ? They're all so connected to cptsd and adhd and i really can't tell the difference or the root cause for each one, for example i have hyper fixation but I don't have adhd
Thank you for your topic suggestion! I will share it with the team. As always, please don't self-diagnoses but reach out to qualified mental health to provide proper diagnosis for you.
@@wherethequietbeingsgo i hope i understood this but google says: hyperfixation as “an intense, repetitive attachment to some form of hobby or content.” In contrast, hyperfocus is a “short, intense focus on a single or set of tasks,” So it could be a form of adhd or just a highly focused person, i genuinely don't know that's why I asked
I'm too late to comment and no one might read it but I'll still take my chance. I'm laughing my butt off watching this video because it is so heavy. My psychologist diagnosed me with Dysthymia and PTSD. I want to deny it so BAD!!... it just hurts.
I honestly don’t know. Would a stroke out of nowhere at 29; being the healthiest you have been and being diagnosed with a clotting disorder immediately after and then being blindsided by your partner 2years later, cause C-ptsd? I have hyper vigilance for my own body now. Fairly bad depression but still doing what I have to do.
@Psych2go I am not really sure. I first started watching your videos to educate myself on mental health but the I started relating to many of the signs in your multiple videos. No, I am not self diagnosing. I noticed those signs long before but I was having hard time accepting that I am not well. But after watching your video and my further research, I couldn't make any excuses anymore. I konw there is something -perhaps not c-ptsd but something. I don't even have any reason to feel this way but I still do; it is honestly so confusing and exhausting sometimes. Right now, I am just trying to find out what it is and what really caused it.
I have whats called pans/pandas disease, it is related to the autism tree but much more harsh, the illness is still being researched as it is new and being put out there into the world such as autism used to come out slowly into the world. my neulogist wont ackowledge my pans/pandas exists because I can conceal it so well in public. but growing up with cptsd half my life throug age 11 to 18 I would mostly cry all the time from the memories and panic untill my parents would come into the room. And I had trouble making in real life friends but i try my best to make online ones
At some point or another I think I've dealt with everything on the list. Since taking psychedelics a year ago my hyper vigilance has greatly reduced but now I am still at the point where I avoid people and places and things that are triggering for me or just I still every once in a while get flashbacks emotionally from the complex PTSD. As I continue to do more psychedelic sessions and other procedures to manage my PTSD and hyper vigilance I believe overtime the emotional stuff at least dissipate to the point where it won't be a super triggering charge for me. I think all of my life I will continue to avoid people and places and things that trigger and traumatize me just because I don't like the energy that comes with those places and people and things. everybody tells us that for every action there's a reaction and a consequence. The way people have traumatized me growing up my withdrawing and being standoffish and reserved and having a bit of an attitude and a temper and getting short with people is the consequence for how they've treated me. I will not change and I will not compromise with people and I will not be questioned and I just don't care how I come across anymore to the world. I have to protect myself. To this day I still find it very difficult to trust people because of trauma. maybe that'll change or maybe I'll just become more and more selective of who I trust. All I know is that I'm not gonna be as nice and as trusting to people as I was when I was younger. That's the consequence for all the times people have done me wrong. I think I'm always going to be a bit on the suspicious side and constantly double checking and triple checking people to see if they're safe to make sure that I protect myself and not end up in danger or harm's way. I might even start doing some patdown of people or maybe some form of touching people just to make sure that they don't have anything on them like a weapon or something that could potentially hurt me. You never know with people these days, bunch of wackos and psychos out there.
I suffer from CPTSD due to rejection from girls in Ms, HS, and college. Especially, rejection from my own family, which led me to be in foster care. I usually feel horrible, that one line likes me, and that I might have done something wrong to sabotage my friendships or relationships. Sometimes, I wonder if I am doing the wrong things to think that people want nothing to do with me.
I was originally diagnosed with PTSD 2 seperate times, but was told it sounds more like C-PTSD so I guess I have that. Not to mention the cause of my Trauma still lives in the same house as me; I STILL feel like I'm trapped and just waiting for the other shoe to fall; to the point when the problem comes home or is about to I isolate myself fully in my room. As it's the only place I feel sort of safe. They are also the reason I have DID, A panic Disorder, Depression, etc.
Anyone else experience something like frustration or envy towards people who seem to find it easier to talk about what's happened to them, or people who have drug addictions or more obvious "symptoms"? Like, I wish I could act out in some way, or apply patterns to the past, make moral judgements about people who "wronged" me without excusing them at the same time and get stuck in a cycle of guilt-anger-worthlessness-fatigue and around again. Wish i could just share a little anecdote that would give an overall flavour, or say "my childhood was like this...", but no titbit of information would serve that purpose because each thing on its own is, in the minds of others, either "normal" or "interesting", or people think they understand when they don't. What makes it hard to deal with now as a fully grown successful (ish) adult is that it's loads of interlocking memories, patterns that weave together to create this whole sticky web. C for complex, really. The stuff about emotional flashbacks was helpful, as a few of the other comments mentioned. Non specific sensations/voices/emotions - acknowledging where they come from and locating them in the past is super helpful to practise. Therapy sucks imo (not that I've been super patient with it), but I've filled tons of notebooks. Writing definitely helps for me but I guess when its C for complex there is never going to be a 1 size fits all treatment. Comedy, music, philosophy are my favourite medicines, but each to their own. Hypervigilence, casual self harm, and hiding in bed for days at a time probably less helpful. Maybe these are things that CBT can fix if/when I develop the will. Blessings to all. Survivors keep going. Life is alright.
Personally i do believe i have cptsd, but not all signs align or not as much. Most of all, i don't or very rarely have flashbacks of any kind, also I'm usually curious about people but struggle to stay a peoples person and not fall back into dissociation/a blank stare, making social interactions basically have a time limit. I also struggle to maintain relationships, plus i don't think i actually trust people but morely i don't care if they tell someone else. I'm lucky i was able to maintain my hope and grow up to be somewhat optimistic, but most of the time i don't feel like a real person but more like i was merely walking this body through the motions of what a normal human being should do.
my flashbacks are usually related to when i feel like something is EXTREMELY UNFAIR like I didn't do anything and i'm paying the price When that happens i get so ANGRY i cant control what I say/do and its like an episode happens where i just see red
C PTSD
1. Physical Symptoms
2. Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness
3. You feel isolated from others
4. Disruption in different parts of your life
5. Depression and anxiety
6. Overly suspicious of others
7. You appear unpredictable or emotional
8. You aren't much of a joiner
9. You always expect the worst
10. You have a hard time trusting others
11. You feel like no one understands you
I wonder what the effect of being on the autistic spectrum makes it difficult to be diagnosed properly?
I should seek out a professional, because I have all of these symptoms
@@alycefrench5753 me too girl, me too. I just have to find good mental health doctors that will listen to me and not just throw medication at me and expect it'll make everything better
I have 2 3 5 7 9 10 11
@@alycefrench5753 for a women that's still better than being a 304
What i hate most with it is not knowing anything anymore, when to eat or drink, what to eat or drink, what to watch on tv, whether i even want to do something or not. It’s exhausting just trying to make the smallest of decisions.
I'm having that trouble too. I'm finally in counseling and was trying to explain today how I struggle with the smallest decisions or tasks. That nothing is easy and straightforward anymore. My counselor is pretty good, but it's hard to be patient with the process when you're drowning. However, being able to talk through things with someone has helped me feel more hopeful about my life. I hope you can find some help or someone to listen and show support. Personally I find it difficult to explain to most people, but there are people out there who will understand. If you're not eating well, try to have a couple of basics on hand that are nutritious, such as chicken soup, and something with electrolytes like Gatorade or pedialite. I usually only eat that way when I'm sick, but it's also good if you're struggling to eat or stay hydrated.
I feel that down to bones. The first day after I left my 31 year marriage to a covert narcissist, my daughter offered to take me to lunch. As she pressed me to decide where I wanted to eat, I couldn't. I ended having a full blown melt down in a parking lot. Just to be clear, she wasn't trying to be mean or rude, she just knew what her father was like and was trying to give me the freedom to choose
When every single decision you've ever made for 31 years has been wrong, selfish, stupid, inconsiderate, or ignorant even picking food seems monumental. It will be a year next month and I'm still struggling with trying to figure out the rest of my life. I'm paralyzed with fear knowing I have some really big choices to make in the next year. Wish me luck!
I wish you all the best, both of you. We all deserve to be well. We'll get there..
Maybe flylady could be helpful, you get schedules a lot and you do not have to decide every little thing but there is a plan. It helps. Also, if you struggle with decisions what to eat, may I suggest, you could make a plan that is always repeating. Like Monday: Boiled potatoes (make a batch, boil them in their peel in saltwater, peel the cooked potatoes all at once and cut them into smaller pieces) with spinach (carrots or whatever you like) and sunny side up. Tuesday: leftover potatoes made into fried potatoes with a green salat. Wednesday and Thursday: one-pot stew or casserole, maybe with some toasted bread. And so on. You can eat the same kind of breakfast every day. Lets say: an egg and granola with berries. It might work better if you make your plan, print or write it and hang it on the fridge.
@@HFTLHKeep going, you will get there. Do you exercise at all? I started walking about a year ago and it has been an incredible help to me. I meditate, journal, eat healthy and of course walk, and I see a counsellor and they are all incredibly important. As a result of this I start a new job after 13 years out of work.
Also, not knowing what’s real. Whether you’re overthinking a potential situation or if something is actually a valid concern
I suffer from very severe cptsd. I barely remember my life. And im so stressed that i just keep losing memories. C-ptsd is horrible to deal with. I've been told by my therapist that I have surprisingly good coping skills and that I could've turned out a lot worse.
Lol same.
are you still able to work? i had so many problems recently with keeping a job. i feel like my childhood trauma is always going to come with me. i’ve been working on personal substance use issues due to not dealing with my trauma. idk sorry i haven’t met anyone in person that gets it
Can emphasize. I constantly fear to be judged because I can't for the life of me tell you what ... for example I talked about yesterday with a friend. Episodal memory is an absolute mess.
@@wavve-am I work for my dad now ironically 🫠 but yeah your trauma is always gonna be with you. It's just up to you how you deal with it
Wait this is not normal? I can’t remember much from before covid.
The biggest misconception by those who don't understand is the belief that PTSD is exclusively suffered by veterans. PTSD by definition is the result of ANY traumatic experience. Assault, neglect, or as is my case, witnessing death first hand, just to name a few.
As someone with CPTSD from grief and childhood verbal abuse, I can attest to this; trauma, like so many things, does not only come in one colour. Watching a loved one slowly decease is in some ways far worse than one sudden moment of trauma; it stays with you far more vividly, as there is such an immense amount of material for the horrible memory to accumulate from. It’s not the same as a sudden death; those are shocking, and terrible, but brief in happening. With at-the-time incurable diseases, you have to watch as they pass in a slow and horrible way over months or even years, and in the case of dementia, they seem to have died long before they’ve even stopped breathing. It’s the slow burning fuse that detonates the most brutal of explosives.
I just recently brought up ptsd to my therapist because a friend who I’ve known for years suggested I may have it. I told my therapist I didn’t think it was true because I thought it was something only veterans got. My therapist told me she had been suspecting I have complex ptsd for a handful of sessions already based on what I’ve told her & we’re going to go more into it next session.
@christoferdrewrocks1 identifying it in the first place is a great start. Good luck on your journey
Lol I'm not sure what to say. But if I'm suspicious about the possibility. Should I finally get a therapist? A lot of friends have said that I should consider getting one. Not sure if that's a bad thing or not thow?
I was in a PTSD group many years ago and I was the only non-veteran. Basically it was like what's he doing here?
Food For Thought: There are wounds that never show on the body, but are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.
Now I finally understand why cutters do what they do.
I never did that but sometimes I wonder why they are demonized as “unhealthy” when they are in fact acting cathartically and trying to deal with their pain in ways that many of us never do.
@@billyb4790 Because harming yourself physically does not adress the underlying problem. As Citizen Soldier verbalized it so aptly in their song "ICU": "You've been carving maps into your skin. To make the sickness show"
Because its horrible to have to suffer in silence. We need our pain to be witnessed by someone. Validation is a totally normal human need but sadly, THAT and "attention" is, what the naysayers are demonizing, even tho human connection is the thing we are craving the most.
And then, maybe they are also demonizing it because they are terrified to be reminded of their own demons inside.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON...SHOULD HAVE PRINTED, THESE VERY WORDS, IN HIS WRITINGS, ..and HIS, "NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL of POETRY"... NOBODY, COULD HAVE SAID THIS BETTER !!!:)
More hurtful than anything that bleeds.
I feel its important to note that "Flashbacks", as they are portrayed in classical media, are most of the time not part of the CPTSD experience. The flashbacks are even strikingly dissimilar to PTSD, as it is often comprised of a fragmented experience. E.g. you suddenly start to smell something that isnt there, or you start to feel an emotion that is persistent but absolutely unrelated to the current situation. Patients often have problems identifying these experience as a flashback or even feel like being some sort of impostor because they think, they have no flashbacks or because their experience doesn't match the widespread symptom descriptions. It is important to note that - as with many things in life - symptoms can be a highly individual experience and should not be interpreted as invalidation.
As someone who is currently on a healing journey from CPTSD, I would have wished someone could have explained this to me sooner. The self doubt was devastating and detrimental to the healing process.
Bless you for sharing this. I needed this piece of clarity sooo much!
Yes thank you so much for that. It actually makes me mad when I see such cheesy and simplistic versions of flashbacks on tv.
For a long time I thought I had none then I realized I have them every moment of the day.
So thank you 🙏
@@billyb4790 > every moment of the day
Yeah. That realization happened in a two stage manner for me. The realization that MOST of what I feel is from the past instead of the present only happened three years after realizing that I do have flashbacks in the first place.
Its absolutely worst when someone comes in to give some hope, and it does absolutely nothing because you emotionally still feel like you are existing right in one of the moments, that broke your soul a little more. Intellectually and physically in the 'present' (whatever that is...) but with invisible, thick ties, that go through time and bind you and pull you back. Thats why the concept of "healing", no matter how attractive the prospect of lessening the pain, also has an upsetting quality to it. It upsets the four year old boy who is right now experiencing being broken by a person who is supposed to protect him, because he needs you and is scared that "healing" would mean to cut the ties that rope you to him through time, leaving him alone and abandoned back in time in a black void (which is not true, but that doesn't matter to him)
And then I often get confused about whom of the two persons I actually am - my past self or my present self. The latter can easily temporarily disappear when the past self is "active".
Umm sorry, that's just my take on how a CPTSD flashback can feel. One possible aspect.
Your mileage may vary.
@@unlovabledeadsquirrel I can relate to your comment so much. It really makes me so sad, makes me wish i never had to go through anything. I lost the teenage years of my life, and up to a certain point i think i also lost myself, my personality, i started forgetting my hobbies and the things i liked, and before i could realize, all that was left of me was a scared and sad teen.
All these years ive tried so hard to bring myself back, i kinda did bring myself back actually, but i can never stop feeling that only a part of me came back, some part of me really died and stayed dead,
The flashbacks ive been experiencig these months are so overwhelming i cant even explain it, it feels like suddendly im gonna lose all of my progress, theyre so damn intense i can actually feel how my body and my mind shut down to a survival state whre i cant function no more, and cant even think myself out of it. The only way i can (sometimes) cope with it, is when my body makes me fall asleep during these flashbacks even if im not slightly tired, or when i get dissociated and numb as hell.
After years of progress its been really getting tough lately, ill still try tough, its just that i feel like my soul doesnt want this no more, like im giving up from the inside. I ve done everything that i could and even more. Ive been fighting for a better life for myself, but theres just so much hopelesness, i feel so overwhelmed against this. I really deserved better.
@@rafaga1106 I'm really sorry that you have to go through this as well.
The only thing that has helped me in those situations was active inner child work. Like really getting in touch, and 'care' for the child like you wished someone would have cared for you back then. Not just take a bubblebath. But actively imagine how it would be a soothing activity for your younger self. Imaginative exercises with loving inner helpers feel quite powerful too, if not even more. Combine it with emotional music that speaks to you. Get those emotions out so they are visible. Experience them with full force.
The worst thing we can do is to numb them out. Thats how we landed here in the first place.
These things are sadly no magic recipe, they wont always work, and they don't last, until we get further along on the 'healing path'.
I know my reply above this reads as if I should better follow this one myself. I do. Its just that being in a flashback is as if nothing you ever did to get better mattered. But it looks like, sadly, you know exactly what I mean.
As a person who suffers from CPTSD, it is dreadful to live with. Having flashbacks every day and barely able to function in life. I suffered a ton of emotional abuse and bullying growing up and it still hurts me to this day...
I actually get stressed very easily whenever I make someone mad or sad or if they yell at me I get stressed then and my heart will start hurting I don't do the fun things I used to do I don't even remember them anymore from my bad memory I actually don't trust anyone enough to tell them what I have I bet they won't even listen I tried with different ways to see their reactions my family's and they say stupid stuff I only trust one person that has the same and I try my best to repay him even though it's not enough. I often get dizzy and have flashback I almost fainted some times but I hope all of u guys to get better
I can relate
I want you to pause and thank yourself.
You’re still here, you’re fighting and you’re trying to cope.
You’re trying your best to resolve your trauma, so thank yourself for doing so.
Don’t be mean to yourself, you’re trying your best!
You’re extremely courageous and gorgeous and brave, never forget that!!!
I want you to be proud of yourself.
❤
@godhelpme369 i really needed to uplifting message because I was really feeling like no one understood my struggles I am glad I am not alone and there are kind people out in the world that care about the well-being of others. You are my motivation to keep going and never give up in life
Thanks so much for the uplifting message. I was starting to lose confidence in myself
Timestamps
1). Physical symptoms 1:04
2). Feeling of worthlessness or hopelessness 1:27
3). You feel isolated from others 1:51
4). Disruption in different areas of your life 2:13
5). Depression and anxiety 2:38
6). You're overly suspicious of others 2:58
7). You appear unpredictable or emotional 3:19
8). You aren't much of a joiner 3:39
9). You always expect the worst 4:00
10). You have a hard time trusting others 4:19
11). You feel like no one understands you 4:45
Hope this helps you out. Hope you have a nice day. Sorry this is so late. 💙💙💙💙💙💙
Hey Psych2Go! My name is Ace, as of today, you guys have brought me enough strength to go out and ask for help. It surely wasnt easy, but i managed. I appreciate you guys very much, and if i didnt watch or find your channel, i would be getting worse and worse. Thank you so much!
Hi Ace, this is such a beautiful comment. Thank you for letting us know our work has made a positive impact on you. We're really proud of you reaching for help. Just know that, you're not alone and there are people out there really care about you. It takes time to see any results. Keep on striving!
Good for you!!
The information u give me of all of the videos u make made me realize what I actually have I appreciate it ty for all the good advice u gave me and others
@@Psych2go hey guys my name is Peter the videos you guys post on PTSD have helped me a lot during my struggles with anxiety and whenever I need cheering up I know I am not the only one suffering in silence. I hope your channel continues to grow and continues to spread awareness about ptsd and how to find help to also help others affected by it . I never thought I would find help until I came across your channel and I am glad I did because I know I am not alone in the battle. I am now talking to my therapist and working on my recovery to get my life back on track. Thanks again you guys saved my life
you know its bad when even going to therapy sounds sketchy and distressing
Oh gosh, I can relate to this-feel like therapy can be helpful (only so much imo-but I am also autistic and not sure traditional CBT is more me-but then again, I have always had trouble being COMPLETELY open with things because of trust issues in general with therapists).
Yea I agree I actually don't really trust therapists they make me stressed
I’ve done tons of research on this and believe I might have it. I hate having to avoid things I love just because they’re linked to bad memories. I told some trusted people and they have been very understanding and that comforts me.
Maybe you do! You could try making an appointment with a councillor or therapist! Professional help helps
Literally could not be more well timed!
We hope this video helps you or someone you know could benefit this video!
CPTSD honestly should have its own category in the DSM. For me, it's hard even to READ BOOKS because if I encounter anything that reminds me of my CPTSD, just having the visualizations is a nightmare.
Me too! I find anything to do with college I can’t finish the book
@@Stressicab Thank you for the validation
All these signs were relatable to me.
All my traumas are caused by events where I've been backstabbed or abandoned by people i thought were my friends, being emotionally abused by them, and even receiving personal threats against myself.
I don't know your situation... but I know how that feels :(. Everyone that claims to be a friend has ended up backstabbing, ghosting, ignoring me etc. I've been lucky to make two friends at least. There's nothing wrong with me socially, and I'm super talkative... but now I'm just always scared of people. I just can never tell someone's intentions anymore and it almost makes me paranoid.
You're not alone in this fight. Good vibes your way❤
Sam here 😢
Same 😢
i have this same problem over years,i trust them easy,doubt them if someone say bad about them,even if confront its difficult to talk or ask,its worse of me expect.I hate my regions values that destroyed me even traumaized.
Being a first responder, I've been diagnosed with multiple C-PTSDs, currently being treated for some of them. It's a rough road... but you eventually learn how to cope with it. Life ain't sunshine and rainbows, there is no cure from PTSDs, but with the right treatment and the right pills, you slowly learn to get back to normal.
So anyone there with it, there's always hope, but know that you'll live with these memories for the rest of your life anyway... there's no magic wand that makes you forget.
Please don’t depend on, or expect pills to get you back to “normal”. Particularly for CPTSD, in so many cases pills are not effective.
@@deanh1627 Ho I know. I hate living on pills, but they're there to help stabilize some stuff that my brain doesn't secrete as much as it should, until I get back more like ''normal''.
I can't wait to stop taking those, but anti-anxiety / Anti depressant are a must when you're unstable mostly in the early stages.
Also, I need medication just to get asleep... those are the kind I'm the most worried about, because, now I truly need them to get asleep. I'll have to slowly stop them when I'll get there...
There are beautiful and natural solutions. I highly recommend going out into nature as much as possible. Those who have lost their lives that you have witnessed are now as free as the singing birds, flowing creeks, rustling leaves, and scented flowers. Connect with nature in any form. You'll feel the magic and start to heal. These are words of a Native American who undergoes regular stress. I always free myself and put everything into grand perspective. Thank you for your service in saving others.
@user-tm3xy9vi6e Thank you. I think and speak from the heart.
And how can you forget when so many people won't let you forget, on a daily basis constantly reminded of past events... 6 1/2 years of this to date.. every day is a pain day!
having c-ptsd means things can come from seemingly nowhere, causing panic attacks, overreactions or other behaviors that i'm slowly learning to deal with. decades of not knowing what was wrong was creating an even larger problem: wondering about my sanity. now that i have an idea of what's going on with me, i can work with it and recognize symptoms, and create strategies to work with it, along with medications that moderate my moods. it's much better now, but i still have a long way to go.
I’m 31 now. I can’t remember my childhood, I lose my iPhone at least 3 times a day, and while I was growing up I had dreams of being in particular place with specific person. At age 16 I had a realization of what happened to me when I was in 2nd grade, it clicked & had flashback, connected my dreams which were memories, that an older girl that lived near me had molested me in her house while I was over there with no parental vision. She made me do things that no children should be doing.
I'm so sorry. I have a friend who described something similar and had amnesia. It's heartbreaking the things that happen to children. I hope things get better for you.
That is Ptsd .
@@mtmarijana21 it is, I was diagnosed with PTSD, bipolar disorder type 2, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and body dysmorphia.
I suffer from this. I was diagnosed with Social PTSD, due to abuse and being abandoned and betrayed from childhood to adulthood...
Its a form of CPTSD from what I can tell... and yes, I avoid people I don't know unless I use a security blanket tactic to deal with them. Even then it doesn't last for a long time so I have to rush social situations unless I'm using roleplay. Which only is done online. In person, it's harder and leaves me unable to have a, 'normal job'.
I hate it, and I hate that people don't understand which only makes me feel worse. Leaving me feeling like I'm the problem for just not trying hard enough.
I want it to stop... I can't even take the meds I need anymore due to a situation outside my control. So I'm stuck worse than I was before.
PTSD is no joke in any form but people are so misinformed about it and forget there's not only multiple forms, but that women suffer from it differently than men. To where when I say I don't have flashbacks, which those are less common in women, people think it means I don't have it. Even if I have been diagnosed.
You don't need to have visual and audio flashbacks to have it. For me, if someone I don't know runs towards me, I immediately back up quickly, bring my arms up in a defensive fear and flinch and whimper. I will remain scared until they back off and get far enough away from me, or just leave me alone entirely. Which even then I need time to calm down...
PTSD isn't just for vets people... Nor is it cookie cutter copy paste. Nor can we control it. We are stuck like this, we just learn ways to cope.
The worst thing is when trusting "professionals" are part of the list of traumas. Seeking help becomes incredibly difficult...
Supporting a friend with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) requires active listening, validation of their feelings, and respecting their boundaries. Patience is key as recovery is a journey, and self-care is crucial for both you and your friend. By practicing empathy and understanding, while also prioritizing your own well-being, you can provide meaningful support throughout their healing process.
I was diagnosed with C-PTSD after being in an abusive marriage for 18 years. I still deal with it 11 years later. It contributed to my 2nd divorce and many failed relationships. I avoid crowds and doing things I used to love doing.
I've been dealing with C-PTSD symptoms my entire life. There's a bit of ADHD in there too. I've finally reached a point where I'm not in constant fight or flight mode anymore, which is definitely a good thing. Now I'm struggling with retraining and reconditioning myself. It's really hard to break some old habits. I've also been doing research into the connections between C-PTSD and other mental health issues such as Autism, ADHD, and a few others. Come to find out, the reason why they're so hard to diagnose is because they all affect the same regions of the brain 🧠. The research is still really new and they're making new discoveries all the time. It's really interesting and insightful if anyone is curious about it. Would definitely recommend looking into it
As someone with cPTSD and several other disorders, I think cPTSD is the worst to deal with of every disorder I have.
About a year ago, for example, I was playing a game with some friends. One of our usuals couldn't make it, so a friend brought in one of their friends as a substitute. This person's callous harshness towards me (accusing me of doing things I didn't do, not listening to me trying to explain what I did instead, etc) made me spiral because of it's similarity to the childhood that left me with cPTSD in the first place. I had to leave that group's gaming sessions for literal MONTHS while this was being dealt with. MONTHS. All because ONE PERSON infiltrated the place I let myself be vulnerable and attacked me without fault of my own.
This is why I can't trust people. This is why I desperately cling to what I have. Because I feel like I'm not good enough to earn a place elsewhere. Because I've tried, and failed. Because my PTSD episodes flare up and cause me to be unavailable or at least volatile. Because I know to expect the worst, because it can and does happen simply since I'm so misunderstood. How can I fit in anywhere that doesn't understand me? Maybe if I was better, people would make the effort, but I'm not and they don't and I just don't belong anywhere. The invasive thoughts kick in minutes after waking up and ruin my whole day, and everyone always just thinks I'm overreacting.
And this doesn't even get into the overlap with my other disorders. And it's truly heartbreaking when people are just like "did you go to war? No? Then you don't have PTSD, shut up, the problem is that your parents didn't beat you enough!" I just want people like that to stop breathing. Let me suffer in silence without piling even more abuse on top. Freaking hell.
Please read the book: Complex PTSD by. Pete Walker. I believe the book will help you a lot. Toxic shame and Emotion Flashback is the worst to deal with, but you can heal.
Pretty late to be here but I wish you the best (my bday wish for you ❤)
It's both helpful and distressing to find out about more and more things that are weighing me down. I can work more easily on getting better, the more I understand about my condition, but at the same time, the pile of problems seems to be getting bigger and bigger. It started with understanding my depression many years ago, then it was about learning of different aspects like dissociating, then I realized that I'm not introverted but had been suffering from social anxiety for a long time. Now, during the past year or so, I finally realized that my childhood didn't only leave me with lots of emotional wounds and seperate traumatic event memories, but with CPTSD. I've already lost so much time due to the things that happened, and it's still far from over. Sometimes, I feel like there will not be much time left to truly enjoy life after finally recovering.
I totally relate to this dude, I get it. Trying to live with chronic trauma and CPTSD can feel like standing up in a windstorm, or like you're at the bottom of a well and the way out looks too high up and too steep to even bother trying. But it's comments like this that remind me I'm not alone. It does sometimes feel like life will always just be filled with hard things but I'm trying to learn to soak in good moments between the big bad things, you know? Sometimes that's easier said than done, but we can try together. :)
@@maggieo1683 ❤️
I understand too. Have felt the same way. Took me 10 years since my divorce to get counseling because it was so hard for me to trust or reach out, or even recognize how much I needed help.. And I'm still dealing with the childhood stuff. I had the same realization about not being an introvert. I'm just afraid of people. It's hard, but I believe it's always worth it to keep fighting. Don't let the demons win.
Have you personally dealt with C-PTSD or know someone who has that could benefit from this video? Please consider liking, sharing and commenting to help raise awareness! Watch our previous video: Your Past Trauma Is Triggered & Ways To Heal (PTSD and CPTSD) th-cam.com/video/QrnqDWLmHSA/w-d-xo.html As always, consult with a qualified mental health professional to further support you on your journey.
Kinda
Thank you for all your teachings
Thank you for supporting our work! @@Fancypantsvr
I def have c-ptsd from a bunch of adults screaming since I was 3 for basically all my life and breakup etc
Any international help lines?
Thanks for this Psych2Go. I was diagnosed with Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is from serving in the military and being near a mass shooting in 2009 😢. I have a therapist who I currently see. I still have flashbacks from my deployments and the incident.
I've only been diagnosed with OCD and Schizophrenia but can relate to all of these. My doctor is clearly invalidating and hiding my trauma from me and acts like nothing ever happened to me. He even tried to undertake my OCD diagnosis even though he gave 2 serotonin drugs before meeting another psychiatrist "to get the" diagnosis of Schizophrenia. How ridiculous? Thanks for this video. I will certainly do something against my psychiatrist. I convinced my father how ill treating he is and will leave that bugger. Also, when I asked the reasons behind getting these illnesses, he blatantly said no there's no reason you just got it although I'd a very traumatic past in the school.
After my time in the army 3 years ago, i had all of these and still do. I never thought I had something like ptsd or cptsd, after the Sargent threatened my life and continued to put me down and single me out, over paper..i never actually did anything wrong, i got depressed and started contemplating suicide and still do everyday. I was injured and couldn't really do much and after i left they lied and denied my compensation and its been hard to live with everything. I haven't gotten better and honestly I think about taking my life a lot. I wish i never met Sargent Burleson or ever joined the army. I just wanted to some good. Now im broken beyond repair.
So sorry to hear what you’ve been through. That sounds really horrendous! Is there a support group nearby that you can attend? I’m sure there must be a few out there that have had similar issues and talking/sharing problems really can make a difference to your mental well being. There are many online therapists these days if you’re not physically able to make it to one, or even mental help hotlines you can call. Please make sure to talk to someone, even just once. I know I’m just some random stranger over the internet, all the way from Australia but I truly wish the best for you after what you’ve been through. Please don’t give up. 🙏🏽
You matter and your life matters! That sergeant was a bully, and it wasn't your fault. Please talk to someone if you haven't already. Talk to God if there's no one else. Even if you don't believe in God, he'll still listen.
I just find it so interesting how everyone has their own struggles and stories.. Some may seem to be worse than others, but that doesn't make it less important.. Trauma makes us who we are, we can grow from it at times, and other times it can leave us in a pit of sadness and want..but yet not knowing what we want.. Yall have a story, none of them should or shouldn't be heard or unheard, we all matter, and never feel less if someone went through more pain and thinks your a big baby or an attention seeker, everyone has a story.. Stories are meant to be told not hidden.
Yeah, this is so true and important for people to realize. Quick rant but growing up I only heard the definitions of trauma to be sexual assault, going to war, or surviving a natural disaster. None of these I had experienced, plus my mom and my best friend in middle school and high school both had way worse childhoods than me- physical, sexual, and emotional abuse for years. So I didn't think I had trauma for the longest time, and couldn't fully wrap my head around why I had such a hard time connecting with the world. It wasn't until I went to therapy that I understood that trauma isn't just the few specific examples I'd grown up hearing, that trauma can be anything very disturbing, stressful, scary, or otherwise overly upsetting, all of which I had lots of, just not in the most common ways you hear about trauma. It's very damaging to believe that your problems "aren't big enough" compared to others. Even if you don't have CPTSD like me, your problems still deserve to be heard, validated, and taken care of however needed.
Just got diagnosed I’m using this video to know some of my symptoms thank you for this video
My past doctors had issues diagnosing if I had PTSD or CPTSD, but after watching this I feel like it's CPTSD. I'm healing from it either way, but it's been a process.
My daughter has had this for 7 years and has finally found someone who has what looks like and what we're really hoping is a cure. I won't put what the cure is since it can be different for everyone. But I write this to say if you have this keep going, keep searching for the health professionals that can give your type of help. ❤
2 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with CPSTD, which honestly surprised me. I refused the fact of having my own trauma, often downplaying it since my trauma was never physical. I have been given many different titles from psychiatrists and therapists, though none really fit perfectly. Bipolar II, BPD, schizotypical, MDD, and general anxiety, which I only matched some characteristics. Since I had refused my trauma, no one knew what was wrong with me. "Surely a personality disorder?" No one saw the signs, and only after years of therapy, could I get an official diagnosis I fully sync with.
I have c-ptsd since a young age with bad sleeping, barely any trust in most things/people on top of being a INFJ-T with photographic memory… at the moment trying therapy (which most don’t work) and it’s a struggle and I hope 1 day, I find awnsers to deal with it easier…
What most don’t explain is that flashbacks are overlayed or projected onto a current person / situation that may have characteristics that remind you of the traumatic past (colors, crowds, mannerisms, etc) and mixes in with the current reality, experiencing it like it’s the same situation come back around again on your life now.
This makes for confusion and launching back into sense of helplessness, fight or flight survival behaviors. Not only does a person need to be taught the skillset to step back & separate what’s real vs past to help rewire new experiences, but also the skillsets to manage having to go through the survival response reactions.
I am sure I have C-PTSD, but after some major life-changing traumatic events - I feel like I was still rushed through the treatment that I was lucky to even get. I'm not sure what to do anymore given the lack of resources and care I already have gotten, but I definitely wish I could get a better diagnosis or at least care in that area.
I'm diagnosed with Complex PTSD and my life is a constant hell and suffering, even though I'm always making progress through long years of therapy.
I don’t comment much, but this one hit home for me every single day.
I love my husband and his family but lately it's so hard to recall nice memories from my past to share.
I came to the realization my memories are tinted with traumatic events. I was treated for depression but now that I'm older i can say that there's something deeper than that.
I dealt with family abuse in the past and my "family" still try to rush me and push me to the edge when it comes to "being successful" i don't need them to be successful, i want to live by myself and take my time with my success and finally have some peace in my life without worrying about my "family" trying to hurt me
I never understood why I had so many problems in my life until my mother’s hospice nurse told me I have c-ptsd.Everything made so much since after that.Atleast I can recognize triggers now and I want to get professional counciling. 🙏🏻♥️
was just diagnosed with this just a few days ago. At with this i feel less misunderstood
C-PTSD feels like a more complicated version of PTSD because the trauma is more severe compared to an individual with PTSD
I don’t think so. PTSD is usually from one traumatic event, like some one seeing their children murdered in front of them, CPTSD is complex because there’s so many different factors over long periods of time, someone seeing their children murdered isn’t less severe, you can have CPTSD from having an emotionally absent parent. It’s nothing about more or less severe, it’s called Complex CPTSD because it’s simply more complex.
@@mangastache100% well said.
Things that happened with a pervious friend group has affected my life so much. I have stupid triggers like toast the other day that gives me anxiety out of nowhere. I’ve also become highly emotional and aggressive. I’ve yelled and disrespected my teachers which I would never dream of doing and my parents. Also coping mechanisms have caused me to get bullied and inhibit normal functioning. I’ve missed too many days of school and have been late every single day. It Sucks.
I actually am currently dealing with Trauma. My stepdad is a nice guy, and I get it, but when he tried to help me get through a stage of my life where I tried to get a career, he was always harsh and given the fact that I am highly emotional, attempted assistance only came off as him telling me what I was doing wrong, and coupled with the fact that multiple times he has lashed out in my direction when his temper got the better of him, even when I had nothing to do with why he was so upset, I have become as the video says, hyper vigilant, always looking over my shoulder, and trying to avoid interactions with him in anything but the most casual of conversations. It even has gotten so bad to where even though my mom has taken his place in trying to help me through difficulties, any reminders about the negative memories I have about the subject cause me to withdraw, and spend my time just trying to forget.
I’m still struggling with this trauma, and I don’t know how to work past it, or what the next step is. I have a therapist, but I don’t know how we can even figure out how to do this.
And that, is my ongoing story of dealing with trauma.
If you're highly emotional, it's often due to things that happened to you, or growing up not being taught how to regulate emotions in a healthy way. So perhaps your therapist could work with you on that. Also your story about your step dad reminded me a lot of my dad. The temper, the criticism, but also "helping" but usually not in the way I needed. I know my story isn't your story, but you might need some help with confidence building and skill building, so you can get some independence and distance from the source of your trauma. I hope things get better. If your therapist isn't helping you, remember you have a right to look for a better one!
my close friend has both ptsd and c-ptsd, among other conditions related to time in service, and other life events.
It has it's challenges being friends with them, but also very rewarding as you can bond with them unlike other friendships; going long times without hearing from them, and having to reassure them regularly is a big part of it.
you really do have to accept that the lack of communication for sometimes months at a time is nothing personal and comes with the conditions, despite how much you may worry about it they need their space, but also reaching out at the same time reminding them that you still want them around and you'll listen to them when they need it, but also directing them to resources that you think will help.
it's not an easy thing by a long shot but I think it's worth it to me to be able to bond with someone that may feel isolated and/or have lost trust in most people
And you sound like the kind of friend people working through this need
after about 40 years of healing from childhood abuse (older sibling) gaslighting and scapegoating family, being attacked as a kid by a random man, and domestic abuse as a grown woman :
1. Physical Symptoms - I experienced multiple detached retinas, temporarily blind in both eyes with no other underlying health issues - completely related to not wanting to see things I saw in trauma - the body certainly does keep the score
2. Feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness: overachiever, lol
3. You feel isolated from others: pretty active with work - but can still feel isolated because I don't have the usual things people have because of abuse
4. Disruption in different parts of your life
5. Depression and anxiety: not so much now - I have mainly healed this part
6. Overly suspicious of others: sometimes still assume motives and have to catch cognitive distortions
7. You appear unpredictable or emotional: no but still react to injustice and perceived disrespect or narcissism in others
8. You aren't much of a joiner - plenty of groups and social support but as an introvert need LOTS of time alone to regroup with myself and recover from this
9. You always expect the worst: catching catastrophic thoughts and watching when things go well
10. You have a hard time trusting others: definitely trust is a real issue and prefer to be alone just because it is easier
11. You feel like no one understands you: pretty much none has to now - go by the 'let them' approach
Even when you're great at healing it still takes a long time with CPTSD compared to PTSD because its relational and core trust bonds are broken
This is so relatable!! I have memory gaps and I get triggered so easily.. especially in intimate relationships, I find it difficult to trust the person no matter what he says or does.. and then I get angry and confrontational which ends up sabotaging my relationship
The hardest symptoms for me involve others- I definitely tend to hermit myself too much. I have a very hard time opening up to people because I'm always afraid I'll overshare and push/scare people away so I'm constantly masking around others, and then I feel like for one, it takes too much energy to keep up the mask, and two, like I'm just living a lie, so I just tend to hole up alone in my room and attempt to soldier through everything alone. And then I think "no one could possibly understand what I've been going through, I'm just so different from them in a way they could never fathom. I'm better off alone." And then I feel like everyone thinks I'm weird and standoffish and nobody likes me, and it's just a whole mess. Living with C-PTSD is hard. The inability to mentally escape the past is difficult. It almost has some similarities to feelings of social anxiety, and I've also had people ask me if I'm autistic or otherwise neurodivergent. I have discussed both possibilities with my therapist and we both agree that I don't meet the full symptoms for either of those, but they have some symptoms that I relate to that overlap with C-PTSD.
wew i FELT this comment so much.
Holy shit
I felt your comment too. It describes me perfectly.
The difference between ptsd and cptsd is that ptsd is a single traumatic experience and cptsd are multiple traumas over a longer period of time.
I found this video extremely, understanding ...EXACTLY WHAT, ....C-PTSD is all about,
from a very early age, of CHILDHOOD ! THANK YOU, for opening up my eyes, to SEE THROUGH, SOMEONE ELSE'S EYES I am VERY GRATEFUL !
Yes have because both of my parents died in front of me i try to stay a way from people and big stores with lots of people in them and nose place. And police car lights and flacesing lights too 😢
My councelor brought up about cptsd. Mine does come from family, friends betraying me, and dealing with health issues since I was a child.
i have cptsd, as a child i felt the opposite of almost everything you have said. i dissociated, felt better than others and had no issues making friends..only later my symptoms became more apparent
I am currently dealing with this. I didn't come to the realization until about four years ago when I first started my therapy journey. And it is very difficult to manage all these symptoms espechially when you have convinced yourself that no one is going to understand you fully. Though I have tried to deal with this on my own, I find it hard to tell someone about my cptsd because I don't want to feel like a burden, but, suffering in silence and stuffing down my emotions until they explode, makes it so much harder.
I have CPTSD as a result of physical and emotional abuse as a child. As a result I have spent most of my life in ‘survival mode’ (I’m now 56) The past three years I have been working on myself with the help of a counsellor, and I am now almost completely out of survival mode. It has been incredibly hard work, and I still have work to do but if you are suffering, please don’t give up, if I can do it then so can you. ❤️
I feel like I can't handle this anymore
11 out of 11. I wish it was 0. I really hate the unpredictability of trauma triggers. It's so exhausting.
This was a good one. Thanks for the video. Will you make more videos about C-PTSD moving forward?
I have experienced CPTSD,, though I had only been diagnosed with PTSD. Trauma therapy helped a lot. However with the current political and social climate i find it very difficult to avoid triggers. I do not feel safe in my own town. Isolstion is my enemy, but . . .
I struggle with C-PTSD. I have flashbacks through dreams and I sometimes feel like I am not going to be alright. But I have found coping strategies such as resources with my mental health such as a container or wall. Sometimes I feel like I can't go on but I always find a way out of it.
This is something I've been coming to realize I've been dealing with since working for McDonalds during the Covid lockdown- alot of people I knew were able to work from home, so there was the trauma of being an "essential worker" was something they couldn't relate to and on top of that, there was the fact that atleast 2 members of the management above me made a decision to victimize me personally that made it even worse.
I haven't heard of this, only PTSD until today, which my mom said could be something I possibly have, and watching this I've related to most of these signs. I should get this checked out and I definitely will when I can, it is nice to know why I do/feel the most of the things I do, and it's nice knowing I'm not the only one.
I tick all the boxes. My counsellor told me a few weeks ago that I probably have CPTSD.
I don't know what I have. I'm self doubting and thinking my abusive ex might be right that I wasn't right defending myself and I'm wrong. He made excessive threats to take my children or that I was to leave them with him but he knows I won't and I'm the one who cares for them daily. I start shaking, sweaty hands and feet, pain in my stomach/wanting to puke. I'm unable to stop shaking and my voice trembles. I have been having trouble sleeping, eating or focusing plus pacing excessively. My abuser never allowed me to relax because I was trained that I'm doing too much of something and just doing that was wrong. I also have severe headaches sometimes and unnatural jaw clenching. What's wrong with me??? Some days are better but then other days I'm back at relieving these symptoms. I still care for my children so I'm thankful God gives me more strength.
This video helped me to understand that probably I had light signs of ptsd in multiple periods of my life, but after lots of time I always managed to heal from it with the help of time, until something really bad happened in my life, I guess I managed to heal partially from it(it took me around 1 year or maybe even more) I think so because I almost don't think about the past too much, even though thinking about some memories of the last days before the disaster happened is still very painful to me, but yet not as painful as it was just a a couple months ago, I managed to overcome my ptsd, but I'm still struggling with depression scince then, and it became even worse when I finally realized that even if i'll manage to return to my home there is just no chance it will stay the same as how I'm remembering it, at first I wanted to turn everything back, but now I just want to die, I'm pretty sure that this is a consequence that occurred because of that
Doing my best to live in the moment now, took much effort.
Don't help when people ask why am i still doing my basic job and say i have so much potential, often the same people who take advantage of my non confrontational approach.
Through the past year i believe that i have had many mental health problems and for me that is what has now given me c-ptsd becausei have struggled so so much. 🙂
i had asked a docter (phyc) about having ptsd 3 years ago, I was going through an adhd diagnosis at the time and some bad stuff had happened seperate to that. after 1.5 years i had to remind him for like the 5th time, and he ran me some questions over the phone, and said ' no you dont have, it its just a bad experience' flash foward a year, ive had 5 hospital admissions, some where suspected heart attack, some where my stomach shutting down, no longer making acid and not allowing food to pass through me, a seperate docter sends me back to the mental health place, turns out i have cptsd because of the constant situation and lack of treatment, and the brain damage that comes from being permamantly stuck in fight or flight mode is so sevear it may never be repaired!
If you dont agree with your docter get a second oppinion!
Oh that explain a lot of what I'm going through
Number 12: You feel like there's something inherently wrong with you. That is what usually follows the number 11 'You feel no one understands you' part.
CPTSD is like PTSD, but in some regards even worse; it’s not just a very distinctive set of things happening at once that triggers it, but even just so much as the mere MENTION of a particular word, or seeing a particular thing, particular smells, or sounds. Essentially, any sensory perception has potential triggers, which is worsened when one also is an autist, as then the mind tends to have the very strong pattern recognition working against one, jumping to unpleasant memories from anything that even tangentially relates to it.
I speak as someone with CPTSD. It’s not fun.
I was diagnosed with cptsd last year, and recently completed 1 year of therapy. I'm not great, but I am better now then I have been for the past 11+ years.
Thankyou for making this video
I have C-PTSD and deal with it to the best of my ability. Medical students should be taught much more about this debilitating condition to better care for their future patients; the understanding and emotional needs of these patients would prevent us who have the malady NOT to be in a constant state of hyper terror, embarrassment of issues which make us “appear needy, ‘neurotic’ and a waste of space”.
I was originally diagnosed with PTSD, then a specialist Domestic Violence Counsellor advised me she believed I actually have C-PTSD. Watching this, I tick all the boxes. My ex, she assaulted me over 100 times, two or three times a week sometimes. How can anyone actually heal from that? I've been single over six years now, having relocated when I was at the brink of a complete physical and mental breakdown, guess I went into survival mode. I literally moved to another part of the UK with a car load of stuff and my cat. And yet I still break down on a daily in floods of tears, which are flowing as I type this. In my head I'm back there, she's sinking her teeth into the end of my nose.This left a scar. I also have M.E and Fibromyalgia, so my life is a living hell. Right now I'm at breaking point, but it seems pointless to seek help, I feel beyond broken. It's worth noting, my ex wasnt my only abusive relationship, but she did the most damage.
"have you ever experienced trauma from 1st line combat in a war?" "its complicated"
hey can you talk about hypervigilance/hyperfocus/hyper independence/hyper fixation ? They're all so connected to cptsd and adhd and i really can't tell the difference or the root cause for each one, for example i have hyper fixation but I don't have adhd
What would be a consideration as a hyper focus
Thank you for your topic suggestion! I will share it with the team. As always, please don't self-diagnoses but reach out to qualified mental health to provide proper diagnosis for you.
@@wherethequietbeingsgo i hope i understood this but google says: hyperfixation as “an intense, repetitive attachment to some form of hobby or content.” In contrast, hyperfocus is a “short, intense focus on a single or set of tasks,”
So it could be a form of adhd or just a highly focused person, i genuinely don't know that's why I asked
@@Psych2go yes thank you 😊
dude, this describe me so much.
Thank you so much for this video. This is very informative to me and my husband. Now we can bring this up to our mental health professionals
Wonderful video. I thank you for creating all these videos. God bless you with wonderful things today.
I'm too late to comment and no one might read it but I'll still take my chance. I'm laughing my butt off watching this video because it is so heavy. My psychologist diagnosed me with Dysthymia and PTSD. I want to deny it so BAD!!... it just hurts.
❤ Be kind to yourself, friend
I honestly don’t know. Would a stroke out of nowhere at 29; being the healthiest you have been and being diagnosed with a clotting disorder immediately after and then being blindsided by your partner 2years later, cause C-ptsd?
I have hyper vigilance for my own body now. Fairly bad depression but still doing what I have to do.
I think that would definitely be a shock and could be traumatic to experience that. I'm really sorry that happened.
@Psych2go I am not really sure. I first started watching your videos to educate myself on mental health but the I started relating to many of the signs in your multiple videos. No, I am not self diagnosing. I noticed those signs long before but I was having hard time accepting that I am not well. But after watching your video and my further research, I couldn't make any excuses anymore. I konw there is something -perhaps not c-ptsd but something. I don't even have any reason to feel this way but I still do; it is honestly so confusing and exhausting sometimes. Right now, I am just trying to find out what it is and what really caused it.
I have whats called pans/pandas disease, it is related to the autism tree but much more harsh, the illness is still being researched as it is new and being put out there into the world such as autism used to come out slowly into the world. my neulogist wont ackowledge my pans/pandas exists because I can conceal it so well in public. but growing up with cptsd half my life throug age 11 to 18 I would mostly cry all the time from the memories and panic untill my parents would come into the room. And I had trouble making in real life friends but i try my best to make online ones
@JoyceNuel Some sort of shroom obsession on there, I like it lol
At some point or another I think I've dealt with everything on the list. Since taking psychedelics a year ago my hyper vigilance has greatly reduced but now I am still at the point where I avoid people and places and things that are triggering for me or just I still every once in a while get flashbacks emotionally from the complex PTSD. As I continue to do more psychedelic sessions and other procedures to manage my PTSD and hyper vigilance I believe overtime the emotional stuff at least dissipate to the point where it won't be a super triggering charge for me. I think all of my life I will continue to avoid people and places and things that trigger and traumatize me just because I don't like the energy that comes with those places and people and things. everybody tells us that for every action there's a reaction and a consequence. The way people have traumatized me growing up my withdrawing and being standoffish and reserved and having a bit of an attitude and a temper and getting short with people is the consequence for how they've treated me. I will not change and I will not compromise with people and I will not be questioned and I just don't care how I come across anymore to the world. I have to protect myself. To this day I still find it very difficult to trust people because of trauma. maybe that'll change or maybe I'll just become more and more selective of who I trust. All I know is that I'm not gonna be as nice and as trusting to people as I was when I was younger. That's the consequence for all the times people have done me wrong. I think I'm always going to be a bit on the suspicious side and constantly double checking and triple checking people to see if they're safe to make sure that I protect myself and not end up in danger or harm's way. I might even start doing some patdown of people or maybe some form of touching people just to make sure that they don't have anything on them like a weapon or something that could potentially hurt me. You never know with people these days, bunch of wackos and psychos out there.
Many people are confused about the difference between BPD and CPTSD
Meanwhile I have both, king of getting abandoned
This video resonates I experience most of these symptoms especially since I get isolated alot.
I suffer from CPTSD due to rejection from girls in Ms, HS, and college. Especially, rejection from my own family, which led me to be in foster care.
I usually feel horrible, that one line likes me, and that I might have done something wrong to sabotage my friendships or relationships.
Sometimes, I wonder if I am doing the wrong things to think that people want nothing to do with me.
I have EVERY ONE of those symptoms…
Some at more or less of a degree than others, but still, something worth discussing with my therapist.
I needed this video. Thank you.
I was originally diagnosed with PTSD 2 seperate times, but was told it sounds more like C-PTSD so I guess I have that. Not to mention the cause of my Trauma still lives in the same house as me; I STILL feel like I'm trapped and just waiting for the other shoe to fall; to the point when the problem comes home or is about to I isolate myself fully in my room. As it's the only place I feel sort of safe. They are also the reason I have DID, A panic Disorder, Depression, etc.
It definitely seems like (to me and my therapist) the reoccurring/consistant tramas changed my brain a different way from my single instance trauma
Whoa, this hit home.
Anyone else experience something like frustration or envy towards people who seem to find it easier to talk about what's happened to them, or people who have drug addictions or more obvious "symptoms"? Like, I wish I could act out in some way, or apply patterns to the past, make moral judgements about people who "wronged" me without excusing them at the same time and get stuck in a cycle of guilt-anger-worthlessness-fatigue and around again. Wish i could just share a little anecdote that would give an overall flavour, or say "my childhood was like this...", but no titbit of information would serve that purpose because each thing on its own is, in the minds of others, either "normal" or "interesting", or people think they understand when they don't. What makes it hard to deal with now as a fully grown successful (ish) adult is that it's loads of interlocking memories, patterns that weave together to create this whole sticky web. C for complex, really. The stuff about emotional flashbacks was helpful, as a few of the other comments mentioned. Non specific sensations/voices/emotions - acknowledging where they come from and locating them in the past is super helpful to practise. Therapy sucks imo (not that I've been super patient with it), but I've filled tons of notebooks. Writing definitely helps for me but I guess when its C for complex there is never going to be a 1 size fits all treatment. Comedy, music, philosophy are my favourite medicines, but each to their own. Hypervigilence, casual self harm, and hiding in bed for days at a time probably less helpful. Maybe these are things that CBT can fix if/when I develop the will. Blessings to all. Survivors keep going. Life is alright.
CPTSD/PTSD is more than what happened to us… it is what happens inside of us (as a result of what happened to us)
It turns out I should have been more suspicious & standoffish all along. Sometimes it doesn't all get clear till retirement.
Personally i do believe i have cptsd, but not all signs align or not as much. Most of all, i don't or very rarely have flashbacks of any kind, also I'm usually curious about people but struggle to stay a peoples person and not fall back into dissociation/a blank stare, making social interactions basically have a time limit. I also struggle to maintain relationships, plus i don't think i actually trust people but morely i don't care if they tell someone else. I'm lucky i was able to maintain my hope and grow up to be somewhat optimistic, but most of the time i don't feel like a real person but more like i was merely walking this body through the motions of what a normal human being should do.
my flashbacks are usually related to when i feel like something is EXTREMELY UNFAIR like I didn't do anything and i'm paying the price
When that happens i get so ANGRY i cant control what I say/do and its like an episode happens where i just see red
I love her voice
I believe it should be & deserves to be in the DMS, there is a big difference betweeptsdn & cptsd