Two unrelated traumatic events

[User88]

I’ve been looking for articles online about this, but failed to find any. I have PTSD from childhood events AND from a traumatic event from adulthood. Does anyone else have PTSD from two or more unrelated events?

 

[Rainman8772]

Loads of people here. Sure you can find someone that does. Read around and welcome. My personal are hundreds of events over a 14 year period most spent out of country.

 

[Changing4Best]

Yes, this is, to my knowledge, called c PTSD. I had both childhood traumas and adult ones. I have a diary here in one of the trauma diaries sections.

 

[Friday]

I have PTSD from childhood events AND from a traumatic event from adulthood. Does anyone else have PTSD from two or more unrelated events?

It’s super common for people to have diverse trauma histories. And even more common for people to have related trauma histories (like abusive childhood transitioning into domestic violence as an adult).

Where you’re probably running into your problems in your search, is that PTSD is lifelong. You can’t get it “twice”, or from 2 different sources, because you already had it from the first one.

- Do later/different traumas complicate things? Absolutely!

- Can a person be virtually asymptomatic following one -or more- traumas, only to get hugely symptomatic following a later trauma? Darn straight.

- If you want to really bake your noodle? A person who already has PTSD doesn’t even need a later trauma to get hugely symptomatic, again. Stress, stressors, or a loss of coping mechanisms (even unhealthy ones! Like quitting smoking) are each more than enough to kick over the apple cart and what was very well managed PTSD, explodes back onto the scene again. Which is a big part of why a lot of people with serious trauma histories, and definite/diagnosed PTSD think they “got it” from whatever stressor was in their life at the time their symptoms blew up. A divorce. A job loss. Cheating. Etc. But really? It’s just PTSD, doing what it does, reacting to stress & stressors. >>> The ptsd cup explanation <<< Best, most useful tool I’ve ever come across... also conceptualises how this disorder reacts to stress.

Personally, my trauma history starts at combat & ends at domestic violence, and there’s a lot of other stuff <waves hand around vaguely> in-between... Lots of very very different things.

this is, to my knowledge, called c PTSD

Nope. The same way people can experience trauma andnot develop PTSD? People can experience complex trauma and not develop CPTSD (Although they may very well develop PTSD from complex trauma).

For more reading on that / better explanations? Check this out > Understand complex ptsd (cptsd)

 

[whiteraven]

I’ve been looking for articles online about this, but failed to find any. I have PTSD from childhood events AND from a traumatic event from adulthood. Does anyone else have PTSD from two or more unrelated events?

Yes. I've had multiple traumas that led to PTSD.

 

[Deanna]

I’ve been looking for articles online about this, but failed to find any. I have PTSD from childhood events AND from a traumatic event from adulthood. Does anyone else have PTSD from two or more unrelated events?

Yes, at least 30 unrelated events, since my childhood trauma, including almost being murdered by my ex-husband. Death, marriages, beatings, having PTSD and not knowing it; having a neck injury, married to a sex addict and not recognizing it. List could go on.

 

[Changing4Best]

Thanks for the link on c PTSD @Friday. I stand corrected.

 

[User88]

Thank you all so much for the replies. It is comforting to think that I’m not alone in this. I will read the links that were provided too. I had a therapy session this morning via phone that asked about my history, it was the first time I’d told anyone I have childhood trauma. I went to therapy for the adulthood trauma, but I am going to try to deal with the childhood trauma too even though it is incredibly painful.