People who experience CPTSD tend to experience many of the symptoms as PTSD plus some additional ones specific to this diagnosis. What are some of the symptoms of CPTSD

Reliving the traumatic experience(s)

• Nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Intrusive memories or thoughts about the trauma

Avoidance of related

• Situations/activities (eg. Driving, large crowds, family gatherings, etc.)
• Places (eg. Family home, a city, bars, subways, etc.)
• People (eg. Those who remind you of the trauma such as men, family members, etc. bt also can be avoidance of people and relationships in general)
• Thoughts abut the traumatic event
• Feelings (emotions) and sensations

Changed beliefs about self, others and the world

• The world is a dangerous place
• Others cannot be trusted
• You did something to cause it or deserve it

Hyperarousal

• Feeling on alert
• Startle easily
• Difficulty sleeping and/or concentrating
• Quick to anger

Difficulty regulating emotions

• Frequently feeling emotionally overwhelmed (anxiety, anger, sadness, hopelessness, shame, guilt, despair)
• This can result in relationship and occupational difficulties resulting from impulsivity and recklessness
• Increased experience of unpleasant emotions such as guilt, shame, anger, sadness, hopelessness, etc.

Shame

• Though an emotion, this one is in it’s own category because it’s such a common experience among survivors and is so strongly tied to the belief “I did something to deserve this” or “I caused it” or “I wanted this”

Changes in consciousness and dissociation

• Feeling detached from the emotions or body
• Forgetting the event even happened
• Questioning your perception of the event
• Difficulty telling past events from present
• Re-experiencing of the trauma through flashbacks – these can be visual, sensory, or auditory

Preoccupation with the abuser

• This can include preoccupation with revenge or placing excessive trust or giving power to the abuser

Somatic Symptoms

• Physical symptoms that don’t have an underlying medical cause
• Unexplained illnesses or physical problems that interfere with daily life

The good news is that CPTSD is treatable. There are various therapies available to help you reduce and manage symptoms of CPTSD.

At New Moon Psychotherapy, healing trauma is what we do. We offer the following treatments that can help:

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
• Somatic Psychotherapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
• Integrative Trauma and Attachment Model
• Couples and family therapy can also be useful if the symptoms are interfering with your relationships.