Cptsd Vs Ptsd

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What is the difference between CPTSD and PTSD?

I understand that cptsd typically is caused by long term abuse like in the case of childhood abuse.
I understand that ptsd typically comes from a one-time incident, like an accident or act of violence.

But what if the experience is somewhat in between, as probably often happens?

Also, what are the differences in
- symptoms?
- treatment?

 

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I checked Wikipedia and some other sources, and they suggest these additional traits in cPTSD:

• Difficulties regulating emotions, including symptoms such as persistent dysphoria, chronic suicidal preoccupation, self injury, explosive or extremely inhibited anger (may alternate), or compulsive or extremely inhibited sexuality (may alternate).
• Variations in consciousness, including forgetting traumatic events (i.e., psychogenic amnesia), reliving experiences (either in the form of intrusive PTSD symptoms or in ruminative preoccupation), or having episodes of dissociation.
• Changes in self-perception, such as a chronic and pervasive sense of helplessness, paralysis of initiative, shame, guilt, self-blame, a sense of defilement or stigma, and a sense of being completely different from other human beings
• Varied changes in the perception of the perpetrator, such as attributing total power to the perpetrator (caution: victim's assessment of power realities may be more realistic than clinician's), becoming preoccupied with the relationship to the perpetrator, including a preoccupation with revenge, idealization or paradoxical gratitude, a sense of a special relationship with the perpetrator or acceptance of the perpetrator's belief system or rationalizations.
• Alterations in relations with others, including isolation and withdrawal, persistent distrust, a repeated search for a rescuer, disruption in intimate relationships and repeated failures of self-protection.
• Loss of, or changes in, one's system of meanings, which may include a loss of sustaining faith or a sense of hopelessness and despair.

But aren't these traits also common in PTSD?

 

[Chuck2]

I'm still learning about PTSD. I had to live in denial for thirty five years. I experienced two and a half years of abuse. I only learned about CPTSD from this forum which I joined in the last couple of weeks. I hope to learn more here. Thank you for posting about this.

 

[Friday]

I spent a few months trying to figure out the difference a year or two ago, and gave it up as a bad job. Far too many conflicting theories, proposals, and no common definition was in use. Some proposals I fit, other proposals couldn't be more unlike me. Most notably the ones that focused on developmental trauma as their base, of which I have none. All my f*cked uppedness came after I was an adult. And no proposal actually had a different kind of treatment plan attached, so it all seemed rather useless. Shrug. I have complex trauma, (combat, rape, torture, imprisonment, natural disasters, crime related violence, abuse/domestic violence), but just like trauma doesn't equal PTSD? Complex trauma doesn't equal complex PTSD.

Complex PTSD will be in the ICD-11, but I haven't read it, yet.

It's still something I keep a casual eye on, though, and will be interested in any better/new information.

Temporally overlapping the DSM-5 process, the World Health Organization has been developing the eleventh edition of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Although publication of ICD-11 won’t occur until 2015*, it looks like the PTSD criteria will be very different than in DSM-5. There are a number of reasons for this: 1) ICD-11 has endorsed a narrow approach that will focus exclusively on PTSD as a stress-induced fear-based anxiety disorder, 2) ICD-11 has taken a much less conservative approach so that DSM-5’s requirement for a large burden of scientific proof to change any DSM-IV criterion has not been a guiding principle. As a result, the ICD-11 revision looks much more drastic than DSM-5, and 3) ICD-11 will include Complex PTSD as a separate diagnosis, whereas DSM-5 will not.

Matthew J. Friedman MD, Ph.D.

National Center for PTSD

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/V25N2.pdf

* ICD-11 due out 2018, according to their website? I think? Or it's possible the ICD-11 is out, and it's the revised version due in 2018. Either way, I couldn't find a copy of the 11, yet.
ICD-11 Revision

 

[Powder]

While I fit the C-PTSD model, I think, subjectively, I'm not sure yet if there is a significant enough divide between PTSD and C-PTSD to merit it's being in the DSM.

Some have said (online, not here in the forum) that one gets Dx'd Borderline if the T. doesn't "like" the patient and Dx'd C-PTSD is s/he does like the patient. In other words, it seems unscientific to draw a line between Borderline and C-PTSD based on rapport or personal chemistry.

More to the point, I don't agree that C-PTSD merits a special diagnosis in that it is still just PTSD that ensued during childhood and disrupted the development of certain emotional resources, such as trust, communication, beliefs about self and world, authority figures, the "system" and self-protection measures, or "learned helplessness," Stockholm, and other problems.

I think it has most to do with age of onset and what was supposed to be happening in our society for a child's "normal" development at that age. Throw a lifetime of PTSD suffering into play with that, and you have what they call C-PTSD.

What is helpful is for clinicians to not downplay the significance of doing everything to build trust, and to be willing to do this, every single session, if necessary, only to be rejected for transference reasons, nearly every time. That is usually noted elsewhere, not in the criteria above.

I am one of those who is severely trust-challenged. I see a dark shadow over every person in a position to offer me assistance. I know I'm perceiving a darkness when it emanates from within my own consciousness and perception of the world, but, as stated above, that has, unfortunately, often been accurate. In some rare cases, I don't want to stay and find out. I'd rather leave and let it remain a mystery if that person was, indeed, dark at the core.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

I checked Wikipedia and some other sources, and they suggest these additional traits in cPTSD:

Good grief! Is it normal to have all of those that are listed?

 

[EveHarrington]

I checked Wikipedia and some other sources, and they suggest these additional traits in cPTSD:

[LI...

Maybe Judith Herman's book would help explain cptsd more?

 

[BlueOrange]

Good grief! Is it normal to have all of those that are listed?

Depends very much on your definition of 'normal'!

I have all of them, and I'm confident that many others here do too.

 

[BlueOrange]

When it comes to differential diagnosis of PTSD and similar problems, I find the theory of structural dissociation useful, and CPTSD useless; it doesn't offer any meaningful difference in treatment approach.

 

[Saria]

* ICD-11 due out 2018, according to their website? I think? Or it's possible the ICD-11 is out, and it's the revised version due in 2018. Either way, I couldn't find a copy of the 11, yet.

I don't think it's out yet either, but I've found a recent study published just two weeks ago which sums it up like this:

ICD-11 proposes that PTSD is comprised of three symptom clusters that result from stimuli related to the traumatic events (First et al., 2015). These symptoms clusters are: (1) re-experiencing of the trauma in the here and now (Re), (2) avoidance of traumatic reminders (Av), and (3) a persistent sense of current threat that is manifested by arousal and hypervigilance (Th).

ICD-11 CPTSD includes the three PTSD clusters and an additional three clusters that reflect ‘disturbances in self-organization’ (DSO): (1) affective dysregulation (AD), (2) negative self-concept (NSC), and (3) disturbances in relationships (DR). These disturbances are proposed to be typically associated with sustained, repeated, or multiple forms of traumatic exposures (e.g., genocide campaigns, childhood sexual abuse, child soldiering, severe domestic violence, torture, or slavery), reflecting a loss of emotional,psychological, andsocial resourcesunder conditions of prolonged adversity. However, type of traumatic stressor is considered a risk factor not a requirement in the differential diagnosis of PTSD versus CPTSD.

This view, supported by recent data (Cloitre et al., 2013), recognizes and allows for the added potential influences of genetic load and environmental risk and resiliency factors. The diagnosis is ultimately determined by symptom pro- file not trauma history, and, based on symptoms, the individual is indicated to have one or the other disorder but not both.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088761851630322X

 

[Sideways]

it doesn't offer any meaningful difference in treatment approach.

My own experience is that the hallmarks of complex ptsd have been gery helpful to me under some of my core difficulties, like my self-concept and attachment to the perp, which I've been able to focus my therapy on in turn. That's been really helpful for me.

Diffrent strokes for diffrent folks:)

 

[lostforgottensoul]

attachment to the perp

I hate this! I still feel like my step dad was my "first love" and a "lover" and it makes me mad i am having trouble changing that.

I also have the same issue with my mom.

Sorry, didnt mean to go off topic. The description says attachment to the abusers/perp(s) and that rings true to me. All of them do but that is a big one.

I know that CPTSD is longivity but not sure about different treatments. My therapist certianly had to think 'out of the box' for me but i don't know if its just because of the kind of trauma i had.