Did you know that trauma, when experienced chronically over a prolonged period of time, can not only alter your brain and nervous system, but it can change the way you view the world around you? This is due to complex post traumatic stress disorder or C-PTSD, a condition that can develop when one is exposed to chronic stress or abuse, primarily in their developmental years. Chronic stress can lead to a dysregulated nervous system, due to the brain trying to cope with overwhelming emotions before it has the ability or know-how to do so.
Complex trauma at its root is relational, often times those with C-PTSD experience abuse or neglect by a caregiver at an early age, this can be in the form of emotional abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse. However, long term abusive relationships later in life can lead to C-PTSD as well. When one is exposed to abuse on a daily basis, the body can grow accustomed to being in a state of fight or flight for prolonged periods of time. This is due to the amygdala, which is responsible for detecting threats or danger, becoming larger after being exposed to long term abuse. Thus, the body never gets a break from the cycle of abuse and coping,and the brain and nervous system begin to identify this heightened state as the new norm.
This dysregulated way of coping can continue throughout one's life, even after they’ve left the abusive situation. It can be triggered by what is called an emotional flashback, where one is exposed to something that reminds them of when they were in an abusive environment, this can happen consciously or unconsciously. When faced with a flashback, the nervous system responds the way it did during the original event, which can lead to overwhelming emotions that make it feel as if they are right back in the abusive situation, the brain can then recognize this pattern of overwhelming emotion, and shift the way one views the world around them, making everyday interactions appear threatening. Jennifer Wallace, co-host of the podcast Trauma Rewired, and neurosomatic guide, describes this phenomenon as if someone was putting on a pair of colored glasses, and viewing the world through a lens of trauma . For someone with C-PTSD, this cycle of being exposed to a trigger, thus altering the way they see the world around them, can happen on a daily basis, as this is the only way their body has learned to cope and adapt.
So how does one get to a place of regulation and learn to develop healthy coping skills? One of the first steps is to reclaim the body and mind as a safe space. While this may seem like an easy task for some, for someone who is used to being on high alert all the time, it can take months or even years to feel safe in their own body again. Cleveland Clinic has recommended the following self-care tips for those with C-PTSD:
Mild exercise, to help reduce stress
Setting small realistic goals
Educate those around you on your experience, and things that might be triggering.
Identify comfort spaces that you can seek out when feeling triggered or overwhelmed.
Attend a trauma support group
Be kind and patient with yourself, recovery is a journey, and everyone is on a different path.
C-PTSD can be an overwhelming, and almost debilitating condition for some, which is why self-care and tuning into one's body and emotions is so imperative to the healing journey.
Sources:
C-PTSD (Complex PTSD). (2023, April 5). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24881-cptsd-complex-ptsd.
Wallace, J., Kristof, E. (Hosts). (2024, April 8). What is C-PTSD? [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from https://illuminatedwithjennifer.libsyn.com/what-is-cptsd-0.
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