You know you have complex trauma when......

[GwenDR]

When there's no before at all, no understanding of what normal is, because there was never normal at any point in your life. And so much of your potential was ripped away from you.

 

[Llith]

You know you have C-PTSD when:
- You can't separate one trauma from another
- You can fill most of the years on a timeline with something
- You start forgetting 'less traumatic' traumas to replace them with new 'more traumatic' traumas and then they start returning as flash backs (yay, my life)

 

[NoWhereKnowWhere]

When your working out a timeline with your T. It's taken 3 sessions to get to age 9 there's stuff I keep remembering and I'm not sure what goes where. It's been really sad. we've not even gotten to the "real" shit yet this stuff is only the confetti around the party of shit that had been my trauma history.

 

[DreamEater]

When people that have experienced plane Jane PTSD from a singular traumatic event in their life try to relate to you and say you can get better with the right help. Little do they know....

 

[DandylionWishes]

..when you have piecemeal symptoms of ptsd, c-ptsd, and bpd, but feel like you are the only...

WOW...thank you @ Lopezwhere'sthefire!! I honestly believed I was completely alone & totally insane since while I try to get a handle on this highway of hell. I find myself lost and confused by all of the "labels" and what category I fit in. Turns out it's a bit of everything you mentioned and everything I loathe in me and wish upon no one - including my abuser.
(I've never posted before, so please forgive me if I did this wrong)

 

[Marisea]

When you look back on your childhood and can't recall one happy memory. Only sadness, fear and emptiness.

 

[Ronin]

When adult things erode what you had of happy childhood memories.

Or happy memories a whole.

 

[ms spock]

When just being alive in this now it the most humungus struggle. Just to feel a feeling.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

When you have to talk about a trauma and then like dominoes falling once you start talking you start remembering and talking about one truama after the other.

 

[acoa82]

I know I have it when I feel like everything is pretending, illusion, irrelevant, and the only thing that matters is to survive. Or to say it more accurate, only things that matters are those that are related to physical threats. Not some abstract concerns. Not some life goals. Not some common interpersonal problems. It is like all the other things are bullshit, some play, trumpery, ridiculus.

And I know I have it when I am hijacked by something that happened. When my emotions are too large, larger than me and I can not handle it. When I feel that people will hurt me, emotionally, physically, anyhow. When I'm exaggerating. When I feel so small, helpless, fragile. When I am confuse, I can not focus, don't know which reaction would be normal.

 

[Tinyflame]

Wow @acoa82 :wideeyed: , tremendously well said. Thank you.

 

[Higgins]

When three years into EMDR you're just finally able to get to the beginning to work your way forward. FML.