Navigating through PTSD AND cPTSD
Many people have heard of PTSD, commonly associated with war vets, diagnosed/understood through the doctor, Bessel van der Kolk.
Fewer people know of cPTSD - complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Understandably, since it’s newer and only recently has been added to the DSM-5 (the bible of the American Psychiatric Association)
Quite frankly, in framing my own condition(s) sometimes it comes up as a bit murky.
I know that I had PTSD after my father’s suicide. I recognized the symptoms of flashbacks to finding remains, sleep disturbance, feeling hypervigilant and being easily startled, feeling on edge, intrusive memories, persistent negative feelings about self, a sense of shame, substance abuse problems, etc.
However, after the second suicide, then having my relationship with a narcissist end, in a dramatic implosion, and other losses - babies and my mother —
I realized that I had complex grief.
Later, I learned of cPTSD - complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
They do have some overlapping symptoms and distinctions as well.
PTSD often times is the result of single-event traumas - distressing but that one moment when you knew your life had changed forever. I had that with my father’s suicide,
cPTSD often results from abusive relationships that occur over time; it’s repeated exposure and repeated abuse.
cPTSD symptoms often times include PTSD symptoms but then also can involve - a hard time regulating emotions, negative perceptions of self, complicated/difficulty in relationships which can lead to isolation, feeling disconnected, changes to your sense of identity, distorted sense of meaning and purpose, preoccupation with the abuser, a sense of shame.
Because the trauma, the abuse, is complex and occurs over a period of time, it is harder to treat - the internalized feelings of shame, disorientation, altered sense of self, distortions to meaning, thoughts, etc, are harder, more resistant, to treatment.
It takes more to treat it.
It only makes sense-
Since cPTSD is so new, I don’t see much of it discussed in research, especially in conjunction/correlation with PTSD - there is little that I’ve read that acknowledges both/and rather than either/or - does one cancel out the other, the cPTSD over the other, since it’s more complex, as its name suggests? Is cPTSD also PTSD but on steroids/amplified? Can they exist simultaneously?
In reflecting on that, and not really having answers, but mostly questions, I’ll only say this -
I am very thankful that - since I recognize that I have had both - that I underwent therapy, treatment and healing for the single-event trauma with my father’s suicide.
Because I can’t imagine having to address the other trauma(s) and griefs, if I had that big blow less addressed and unresolved trauma as well.
Either way, PTSD AND cPTSD are both mindfuckery.
I send love and light to all the rest of you who are also on those healing journeys.
Because as the article below states, “Life with both disorders can leave a person with self-doubt, self-doubt, and low self-esteem that hampers their ability to conduct their lives well.”
Update: A quick look at some journal articles confirms that you can have both:
https://cptsdfoundation.org/2021/06/14/co-occurring-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-and-complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/