Confused About Complex Trauma

[Jestadud]

Excuse me coming back again on this thread. Please understand that I don't want to cause upset to anyone, I struggle so much at times to find the words to explain what I'm feeling.
Let me make it clear that I'm not disputing cptsd.

I think what's causing me a problem is the much quoted DSM itself.
I believe there is something missing in the criteria often listed for cptsd, maybe something like learnt behaviours?
Or maybe there is something else which is like cptsd but doesn't require the repeated abuse and suffering, perhaps this is what DESNOS is intended to cover.

A worry I have is that someone developes full blown ptsd then realises they can track symptons back to their childhood so go looking for traumas that don't exist or blowing incidents up out of proportion. Trying to make themselves fit the diagnosis rather than the dx fitting them. ( This is a general comment so please don't anybody take it as personal )

Like many I only have a couple of people who know I have ptsd and a couple of others who know about about the "stress thingy". Outside of this forum clasification isn't that important.

I think I have to speak up because people come here looking for help and I assume that those who help us also look here.

 

[Flower]

Can someone have c-ptsd and be mostly fine? I mean... people with ptsd have different levels of severity in their symptoms. Some can hold jobs, others cannot. Is this true with c-ptsd as well?

My therapist thinks that I have c-ptsd (I think I do too, most days), but most of the time I am okay. Every once in a while something with trigger me and I'll be a complete mess for 1 week to a few months. Does that still fit within the whole range of ways c-ptsd can be experienced? So...I've developed a way to be mostly 'normal' in my social interactions, but sometimes the 'fight or flight' gets triggered and all the 'normal' melts away into paranoia...

I don't want to make the thread about me, I just want to know: Can this kind of mostly-high-level-functioning be present in c-ptsd?

 

[becvan]

I believe there is something missing in the criteria often listed for cptsd, maybe something like learnt behaviours?
Or maybe there is something else which is like cptsd but doesn't require the repeated abuse and suffering, perhaps this is what DESNOS is intended to cover.

No worries, I haven't seen anyone upset just because your asking questions! :) Okay, why would a criteria be missing from C-PTSD? I'm not sure what you mean. Is it, they have failed to mention a criteria that is used to determine that is the proper diagnosis, or that it's completely missed something? Why would it be missing something?
I'm not sure about DESNOS, but I suspect you may be right. I don't have that diagnosis so I can't say.Hopefully someone with a better answer than mine can confirm it for you! LOL

A worry I have is that someone developes full blown ptsd then realises they can track symptons back to their childhood so go looking for traumas that don't exist or blowing incidents up out of proportion. Trying to make themselves fit the diagnosis rather than the dx fitting them. ( This is a general comment so please don't anybody take it as personal )

Why are you worrying about some hypothetical person hypothetically trying to fit themselves to a diagnosis? We already highly discourage self diagnosing all over this forum. We have all tried to make it very clear that ANY diagnosis of PTSD must be done by the appropriate therapists/psychiatrists. If someone does do this, then a) we would discourage it to begin with and b) it wouldn't help them anyways, as having the proper diagnosis is very important to have the proper therapy. Personally I think any person who runs around trying to make their lives fit a specific diagnosis.. has some major issues.

Flower:

C-PTSD is the severe end of PTSD. It's still PTSD though. Consider this.. on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 is acute PTSD and 10 is C-PTSD. It's just a level of severity. (this of course just being an example and not accurate)

As for level of functioning, each person is different and each person handles their PTSD differently. I only know a few people with C-PTSD, well enough to say what their level of functioning is. Those I know extremely well, including myself, function at extremely low levels compared to others. But I can only say this for a few.

Also you have to take into account what type of therapy they have done, how much work they really put into it, how long they have worked on it, if they have been re-traumatized recently etc. This all affects functioning. How much trauma, at what age, support systems.. etc all factor into later functioning levels. Even if someone can or can not do certain types of therapies effect it. Functioning levels are very subjective and are dependant on each persons unique abilities, weaknesses, supports etc.

What you are talking about with being mostly "normal" in social situations does not sound even remotely like C-PTSD to me. However I am an extreme case.

bec

 

[Auburngirl]

I'd say I'm high functioning and have CPTSD. As I mentioned before, the reason this diagnosis was sent my way is mainly because of dissociation. My symptoms have lessened, and I'd say I'm definitely at the mild end of the spectrum. I think CPTSD is different from PTSD but not necessarily more severe (but perhaps more likely to be more severe).

And jestadud, I think it's unlikely to see all of you reflected in a diagnosis. Read the articles on DESNOs and see if it's of use to you. Take a highlighter and highlight the bits of both that apply to you, and leave the ones that don't alone, add a list of anything important you think is missing. Bring this with you to your doctor. These lists of symptoms, and diagnostic criteria can be helpful in giving you words for what you experience. But you'll never find all of you reflected in a diagnosis, in my opinion, and that's fine. Your doctor needs to understand what you are going through, and together you need to develop a treatment plan, that can happen with or without a perfectly matching diagnosis, so long as there is good communication.

As for telling others, sometimes I use a diagnosis (I have a variety of PTSD, or I have an anxiety and dissociative disorder) or sometimes I just describe - I have some negative experiences in the past that cause me to react in X way to X situations, or I have a chronic medical condition that occasionally affects my memory and means I need to sleep a lot. The way I see it, the DSM has its purpose, but when it comes to me explaining me, I get to choose my own words.

 

[starshine]

In my case, I work, but that doesn't make me high functioning as such - mostly my lower end of functioning is contained, and I have hours of higher functioning. Bottom line, being triggered and feeling insecure shows me as very low functioning for episodes. I function in the loosest definition of the word, but it could be seen as just a framework of it.
On the other hand, my ability to articulate my feelings, thoughts, and understand the intricacies of my internal dynamics, on one level is higher functioning. I could not articulate all this prior to engaging in therapy, and it's ongoing therapeutic work.
But then, when triggered and/or insecure, Traumatised Mind comes forefront, and can make me very dysfunctional, and blanks my thoughts and feelings.

 

[Auburngirl]

Starshine,

I'm definitely not high functioning at every single moment, when I get sick I deteriorate, and sometimes I can only sleep. But most of the time, I'd say I'm high functioning - I have to be more careful than I used to be, but I can still manage and sometimes excel. I do feel like I'm able to compete with my "normal" colleagues.

 

[starshine]

You see, for me, excelling is something not currently within my capability range. I just don't have the emotional energy or the head-space or the concentration to get 'that far'.
I've been down the route of going for jobs that at the time were far beyond my skill range, because a 'friend' pushed me into applying, looking at my potential, rather than where I was really at at that time in my life. Back then I didn't have a diagnosis nor was I in treatment - but I was very ill. Why didn't I seek treatment earlier? That's something I'll focus on in my Diary at the right time.

It's a constant work in process for me to let go of the perfectionism that has pursued me all my life, trying to do something, anything, to 'please daddy'. But back then, nothing would, so I fight a losing battle on that one.

Whatever and whichsoever, it's not a competition. It's a matter, as I see it, of living the best you can with what you have in each moment.

 

[Auburngirl]

I agree absolutely that it's not a competition. However, for me, being able to do feel like I was doing something well was/is really important in terms of pride/self confidence. It's also helpful for me in terms of negotiating accommodation to be able to say - I have a record of good work, but today I'm not feeling so well and so I'm not going to be able to do X. Me being sick doesn't mean I can do nothing, at the moment it means my abilities are more variable, I need to watch stress more and I need more rest.


What I started with was small things I felt I could do well - then I'd feel a lot of satisfaction (and probably spend way more time preparing than others). Unlike your friend's strategy I'd aim lower than you think you can do, to let yourself do well and feel good about that, then gradually increase over time as you can.

I guess also for me, I want to feel like I'm doing better than surviving - that to me isn't recovery. I think what recovery means to each of us is likely different, and I agree that it's about doing the best we can in each moment and enjoying our lives.

The other thing someone told me that I found to be utterly true is that progress is non-linear, a few steps forward, then back, then stop, then back, then forwards, etc. EVery day is different, on bad days, my most optimistic thought is "I'm not going to five up TODAY, I don't know about tomorrow, but I'm only dealing with today right now" on good days, my goals and hopes are big and wide and exciting. I think my main realisation is I need a job and a life that is made to fit me, not making me fit some other structure.

 

[SwordDanceWarrior]

I have complex PTSD, and I got it from a decade of relatively severe sexual abuse by someone with a lot of access to me. However, I'm guessing that someone who had survived prolonged torture in captivity would also get it. The complex part of it is about duration and context. Child sexual abuse causes it because the child is essentially captive in an environment where multiple traumatic incidents take place. An adult going through that sort of thing is more rare in countries without widespread torture, but I'm guessing a battered spouse could get it if she or he was held and abused for years.

SDW

< Self promotion removed, read rules please - Anthony >

 

[Mercy]

I know I have C-PTSD but I thought I had it under control, 'sure thing'.... Right now the worst part is not being able to remember things, even little daily things. I don't remember where I've been until my husband reminds me. It is scary not being able to trust oneself. Heck, I didn't even remember having posted in my diary that I had been away. I thought that was news. The joke is on me. I guess I should stop now and ease back into this amazing group of people who understand and care.

 

[mamachick]

My therapist just said Ptsd, not complex. I read stuff and sometimes misinterpret or forget where I read it, so my apologies in advance if I am wrong.
I thought I read that emotional flashbacks come from C ptsd and not from ptsd. Some of the symptoms such as emotional flashbacks, derealization, etc-I have to think about hard to know if I have them. I think this is because one of the ways I have (thought I managed ptsd symptoms) was staying busy and not focusing on sensations or (ignoring). Now I am paying attention but it is hard to get in touch with what I have avoided for so long I guess.

So do both ptsd and d-ptsd have emotional flashbacks?

 

[Mercy]

I don't get why the name or degree of functioning makes any difference unless it provides a framework that can help piece the disparate pieces of one's experience together.

This is hard to find the words for. I'm going to refere to the outward physical being as the shell. Different people/personalities can occupy the shell as a single presence or, for example, share the shell with a child who would like to look out but not be seen. All parts were formed in childhood. Each has a specific role or job.

The traffickers had senarios that they repeated like child bride. So to perform the role, I needed a door keeper to ensure that the child who was going to be present in the shell knew all the rules of that 'game'. Child bride required the supposition of complete innocence. The child had never been touched by a man. My husband of the week would 'teach me' everything. So that means the bride had to know how to pretend ignorance, show no fear, be compliant and remember to praise the husband. In Bride stories it was ok to show physical pain. There was also an inner enforcer to keep the bride from disassociating because of the pain. Some husbands were abusive. They had bought the time and what they did with it was their choice. poor little bride, just a bag of slime.....