I didn’t know those are linked with CPTSD. I have all of them. I wonder how CPTSD population would compare with non-CPTSD populations on those qualities.
Thank you for answering!
I'm not a psychologist or anything. I'm just doing a lot of research on CPTSD and complex trauma. These patterns above are not necessary for just CPTSD and not everyone with CPTSD has them. I specifically meant for ppl who experienced repeated trauma during childhood (e.g., abuse, trafficking, domestic violence). The child's brain is wired for love and attachment from caretakers. When they didn't receive it, it's too dangerous for the child's brain to believe that caretakers are not safe, so the nervous system keeps them alive by protecting thier love for their caretakers so they could survive.
CPTSD affects three major areas: emotional regulation, self-perception, and relationships.
The ideas about self-abandonment and emotional over-responsibility come from well-known trauma psychology research and therapy work.
Some major sources where these ideas appear:
• Pete Walker – Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
• Janina Fisher – Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors
• Judith Herman – Trauma and Recovery (one of the foundational trauma books)
• Bessel van der Kolk – The Body Keeps the Score
• Gabor Maté – When the Body Says No / The Myth of Normal
Across thousands of trauma survivors, therapists observed similar patterns that often develop when a child grows up in an environment where:
• love is conditional (only when performing well)
• caretakers are emotionally unpredictable
• the child becomes the peacekeeper in conflict
• the child’s feelings are dismissed or punished
• the child is expected to take care of adults
The child who grows up in survival mode for a long period of time learns something like:
“If I ignore myself and take care of everyone else, maybe I will be safe.”
Why does it continue into adulthood?
The nervous system keeps repeating the old rule: “Other people first. Me last, or something bad will happen.”
Even when you’re safe now.
