Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a mental health condition that can be caused by long-term trauma. This can include prolonged child abuse or domestic violence.
According to the Cleveland Clinic website, the condition is often associated with chronic trauma in childhood. However, adults who share similar experiences are also known to develop CPTSD.
Difference between PTSD and CPTSD
The primary differences between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and CPTSD are the length of trauma and the symptoms, as per the Cleveland Clinic.
Mental health experts traditionally thought short-term trauma, such as a vehicle accident or a natural disaster, to be the general cause of PTSD. However, later research indicates that long-term, repeated trauma tends to present additional symptoms to PTSD.
Both CPTSD and PTSD show symptoms of psychological and behavioural stress responses, such as flashbacks, hypervigilance and efforts to avoid distressing reminders of the traumatic event. The additional symptoms of CPTSD include chronic and extensive issues with emotional regulation, identity and sense of self, and relationships.
Common symptoms of CPTSD
Taking to Instagram on February 17, Jeff Guenther, a licensed professional counsellor based in Portland, shared 13 most common symptoms of CPTSD that he has observed in his career of over 20 years. They are listed as follows:
- Chronic people pleasing that feels almost physically compulsive and is not just a personality trait
- Constantly rehearsing conversations before they happen and debriefing them after
- Emotional flashbacks with no visual component. This can involve suddenly feeling small, worthless, or terrified with no obvious trigger
- Time blindness, or genuinely losing track of hours, days, or even weeks
- Feeling like one is performing being a person rather than actually being one
- Startle responses that are way out of proportion. For instance, if someone closes a cabinet and the body acts like a cannon went off
- Difficulty with object permanence in relationships. “So, when someone’s not in front of you, you struggle to believe that they still care about you,” explained Jeff
- Feeling exhausted after socialising even with people one loves
- Difficulty identifying what one actually wants. even at a restaurant, in a career, or in life
- The freeze response that looks like laziness, but is most likely the nervous system just completely shutting down
- Hyper sensitivity to tone, “which makes reading text messages a real nightmare because the brain will convince you that okay means they hate you”
- An exaggerated sense of responsibility for other people’s emotions
- Struggling with transitions. Even good ones, like vacations or promotions, feel destabilising
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