Complex Trauma
Complex trauma, often referred to as Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), is a condition that results from exposure to prolonged, repetitive, and cumulative traumatic events, usually within contexts where the individual has little chance of escape. It's different from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which typically arises from a single or a few traumatic events.
Complex trauma often involves interpersonal trauma, where harm or abandonment occurs within close relationships, especially caregiving ones. Examples include prolonged abuse (emotional, physical, or sexual), chronic neglect, being held captive (like in cases of domestic violence or cults), and various forms of child maltreatment.
Some characteristics and symptoms of complex trauma include:
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Emotional Regulation Difficulties: This includes persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, explosive anger, or inhibited anger.
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Changes in Consciousness: This involves forgetting traumatic events, reliving traumatic events, or having episodes of dissociation (feeling detached from oneself).
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Changes in Self-Perception: Examples include a sense of helplessness, shame, guilt, stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings.
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Distorted Perceptions of the Perpetrator: This encompasses attributing total power to the perpetrator or becoming preoccupied with the relationship to the perpetrator, including a preoccupation with revenge.
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Difficulties in Relationships: This includes isolation, distrust, or a repeated search for a rescuer.
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Somatization: Experiencing physical symptoms in response to psychological distress.
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Loss of Systems of Meanings: This involves a loss of sustaining beliefs or a sense of hopelessness and despair.
It's important to understand that complex trauma requires specialized therapeutic interventions. The effects are pervasive and can impact various aspects of an individual's life. Therapies that focus on safety, stabilization, and skill-building, followed by trauma processing and integration, are often recommended.
