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How to know if you might have cPTSD instead of PTSD?
Many people with cPTSD were initially diagnosed with regular PTSD. A big reason for this is that cPTSD is still not in the DSMV, while it is in the ICD -10. Psychologist and psychiatrists generally use the DSMV, dependent on the country.
You may notice after beginning treatment for regular PTSD that when being asked to focus on 'the' traumatic event, you struggle to do so because there were multiple, many, or it just blurs together. This was the case for me. In every PTSD CPT group I did, I struggled to select one single traumatic memory to focus on.
You may also find that you have additional symptoms that aren't being explained - a distinct lack of trust in other people, despite how much they've proven their trustworthy nature, a tendency to switch off emotionally when certain topics are discussed, feelings of intense guilt, shame, and self blame. Emotions which can vary widely over the course of a day (emotional dysregulation) and dissociation. You may also hold unrealistic views about the world and yourself, like 'I am a bad person, the world is a just place and bad things happen to bad people like me' to explain away traumatic experiences you've had. You may have a strong attachment with the perpetrator of your trauma, if it was interpersonal, or be obsessed over the idea of revenge.
Generally, complex PTSD arises from specific types of trauma. Things like torture, being in a concentration camp, and experiencing ongoing childhood physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect, or ongoing intimate partner violence. There is usually a strong interpersonal nature to the trauma, which results in the additional difficulties present with cPTSD vs PTSD.
Notably, cPTSD is still distinct from *chronic* PTSD, which is a long lasting form of PTSD which still arises from single incident trauma.
If you have a PTSD diagnosis, and your traumatic experiences were the same as those listed above (plus some others I have forgotten) and you are *not* improving at all with PTSD treatment, perhaps consider questioning your therapist about the possibility of cPTSD.
https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/what-is-cptsd this is a fantastic resource to try and help a professional gain understanding of this condition.
To note, to have a diagnosis of complex PTSD the trauma *must* be of a life threatening nature. This means that while someone may find an experience traumatic for themselves, if it doesn't meet that strict requirement then a diagnosis of stress disorder or adjustment disorder would likely result. This is to reflect the fact that certain types of traumas (especially interpersonal ones which are defined by a power imbalance) create a very specific kind of mental anguish in a person and only that type of experience is able to cause that level of distress on an objective level.
This isn't to say other experiences are not distressing, but they would not result in a complex PTSD diagnosis nor require the same level of ongoing treatment over sometimes decades. For many, it is the issue of being in an inescapable situation that provokes the sequelae of symptoms.
How to know if you might have cPTSD instead of PTSD?
Many people with cPTSD were initially diagnosed with regular PTSD. A big reason for this is that cPTSD is still not in the DSMV, while it is in the ICD -10. Psychologist and psychiatrists generally use the DSMV, dependent on the country.
You may notice after beginning treatment for regular PTSD that when being asked to focus on 'the' traumatic event, you struggle to do so because there were multiple, many, or it just blurs together. This was the case for me. In every PTSD CPT group I did, I struggled to select one single traumatic memory to focus on.
You may also find that you have additional symptoms that aren't being explained - a distinct lack of trust in other people, despite how much they've proven their trustworthy nature, a tendency to switch off emotionally when certain topics are discussed, feelings of intense guilt, shame, and self blame. Emotions which can vary widely over the course of a day (emotional dysregulation) and dissociation. You may also hold unrealistic views about the world and yourself, like 'I am a bad person, the world is a just place and bad things happen to bad people like me' to explain away traumatic experiences you've had. You may have a strong attachment with the perpetrator of your trauma, if it was interpersonal, or be obsessed over the idea of revenge.
Generally, complex PTSD arises from specific types of trauma. Things like torture, being in a concentration camp, and experiencing ongoing childhood physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect, or ongoing intimate partner violence. There is usually a strong interpersonal nature to the trauma, which results in the additional difficulties present with cPTSD vs PTSD.
Notably, cPTSD is still distinct from *chronic* PTSD, which is a long lasting form of PTSD which still arises from single incident trauma.
If you have a PTSD diagnosis, and your traumatic experiences were the same as those listed above (plus some others I have forgotten) and you are *not* improving at all with PTSD treatment, perhaps consider questioning your therapist about the possibility of cPTSD.
https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/what-is-cptsd this is a fantastic resource to try and help a professional gain understanding of this condition.
To note, to have a diagnosis of complex PTSD the trauma *must* be of a life threatening nature. This means that while someone may find an experience traumatic for themselves, if it doesn't meet that strict requirement then a diagnosis of stress disorder or adjustment disorder would likely result. This is to reflect the fact that certain types of traumas (especially interpersonal ones which are defined by a power imbalance) create a very specific kind of mental anguish in a person and only that type of experience is able to cause that level of distress on an objective level.
This isn't to say other experiences are not distressing, but they would not result in a complex PTSD diagnosis nor require the same level of ongoing treatment over sometimes decades. For many, it is the issue of being in an inescapable situation that provokes the sequelae of symptoms.
