What is CPTSD?
CPTSD is a more severe form of PTSD.
In his book, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
The 5 most common symptoms of CPTSD:
- emotional flashbacks
- toxic shame
- self abandonment
- a vicious inner/outer critic
- social anxiety
CPTSD is a learned set of coping strategies that are caused by experiencing complex trauma.
CPTSD develops as a response to our environment, therefore it is a disorder that is caused by nurture, not nature.
As it is a learned response, it can be unlearned through recovery work.
Common Symptoms of CPTSD
- emotional flashbacks
- tyrannical inner and/or outer critic
- toxic shame
- self abandonment
- social anxiety
- abject feelings of loneliness and abandonment
- fragile self-esteem
- attachment disorder
- developmental arrests
- relationship difficulties
- radical mood vacillations
- dissociation via distracting activities or mental processes
- hair-triggered fight/flight response
- oversensitivity to stressful situations
- suicidal ideation
What Are Emotional Flashbacks?
Emotional flashbacks are the most common and troublesome symptom of CPTSD.
Flashbacks are the re-experiencing of the trauma.
Emotional flashbacks do not have a visual component as they do in PTSD.
They involve the survivor becoming overwhelmed with the intense feelings of being an abused/abandoned child.
These intense feelings can include overwhelming fear, shame, alienation, rage, grief and depression.
Pete Walker’s 13 Steps For Managing Emotional Flashbacks
In his book, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving, Pete Walker has a list of 13 steps that help reduce emotional flashbacks.
I have found them very useful in helping me with my recovery.
If you are having an emotional flashback right now I want you to stay tuned and try out the steps I use to see if they help reduce the intensity of your flashback.
The Steps I Take When I Am In An Emotional Flashback
I acknowledge it and say out loud, over and over, “I am having an emotional flashback, I am having an emotional flashback, I am having an emotional flashback” as many times as I need to.
I tell myself that I am safe and that I am in a grown up body.
I pay attention to my breathing, saying in my head, “breathe in, breath out”, and repeat for as long as I need to. Try it now. This helps me to be mindful and to bring me back to the present moment.
I then try to figure out what triggered me and what I might have been flashing back to.
I use my steps in the absence of Pete Walker’s 13 steps to lessen the severity of my flashbacks.
Resources:
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
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