General question re PTSD/CPSD

[JennyT18]

Hi all, I'm new here. I'm looking for answers all over the internet as to why I'm feeling and acting the way I do and really not getting any luck with my doctor (I'm UK based) I just keep being told I am depressed and given antidepressants. This has been going on for 30 years now and I'm 50.

My question to you all is this....

As a very small child (18 months old) I had an accident (burns) which at the time was apparently very serious but I obviously pulled through. I had some revision surgeries many years later at around 11 years old. My parents brought me up to cover up my scars as I was sometimes bullied at school and they did not want to discuss the accident or anything about it. To this day, they still refuse to discuss it really.

My question is, can CPTSD be caused by an incident so early in life? Especially by an incident I don't remember? I look at the symptoms of CPTSD and I tick a lot of the boxes. Don't like to self diagnose, but wanted to try to get some psychiatric help and wondered if bringing this up as a possible option might help my cause? Thanks in advance

 

[Sideways]

My question is, can CPTSD be caused by an incident so early in life? Especially by an incident I don't remember

Short answer is yes.

But to clarify: CPTSD relates to living in chronic life-threatening situations (like living with chronic child abuse, or doing a tour in a war zone), whereas PTSD relates to single-event trauma (like a fire).

Both can be caused by incidents that occurred as an infant.

Don't like to self diagnose, but wanted to try to get some psychiatric help and wondered if bringing this up as a possible option might help my cause?

There’s no harm in raising PTSD as a possibility. At the very least, it gives the practitioner an opportunity to explain why, or why not, they would apply a particular diagnosis.

 

[gorgonzola]

As @Sideways says, yes to your question.

I look at the symptoms of CPTSD and I tick a lot of the boxes.

I'd suggest checking out the International Trauma Questionnaire, which is based on the ICD-11 definitions of PTSD and CPTSD. You could bring a filled-out copy to your doc, perhaps.

I just keep being told I am depressed and given antidepressants.

Note that this is very consistent with (C)PTSD since depression is brutally comorbid.