So I got diagnosed with PTSD with complex trauma by several therapists due to abandonment, medical treatments, emotional neglect, and inconsistent caretaking. I never knew if my caretakers were going to be nice or mean, if I was going wake up in pain, when/if my physical and emotional needs were going to be met, if people would leave forever from my life and I didn't have any trusted adult to turn to for the first few years of my life. I got adopted into a nice family with a history of trauma. They are quite loving but I never received resources to transition into a whole new environment so all my early trauma got brushed under the rug until 20 years later. I feel like a fraud because it happened so long ago. But it keeps popping up like after my adoptive family broke apart and getting out of a psychologically abusive relationship.
Also, half of my therapists and some people were skeptical of my diagnosis because I didn't have constant recurrent nightmares and I couldn't identify a singular terrifying experience. The thing is that I have had probably close to 25 triggers to varying degrees since I was a little kid and had full-blown 3 hour+ temper tantrums well into my mid-twenties. To protect my psyche, I numbed myself out to oblivion and tried to control my emotional expression.
Also, half of my therapists and some people were skeptical of my diagnosis because I didn't have constant recurrent nightmares and I couldn't identify a singular terrifying experience. The thing is that I have had probably close to 25 triggers to varying degrees since I was a little kid and had full-blown 3 hour+ temper tantrums well into my mid-twenties. To protect my psyche, I numbed myself out to oblivion and tried to control my emotional expression.