You may have heard about people dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, but have you heard of C-PTSD? The difference is only the inclusion of a prefix, but the entire diagnosis shifts with this mental health disorder. Unlike PTSD, Complex PTSD can be much more dangerous if left untreated. While there are many similarities between the two, both are significantly different in their triggers, working, symptoms, and treatment. The cause and effects of both may seem similar on the surface, but Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can take much longer to be understood given the layers it hides under. This blog is focused on exploring a few things you may not have known about Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
- Childhood trauma can trigger C-PTSD: Usually, PTSD can be triggered due to extremely traumatic events like losing a loved one, being deployed in war times as armed force personnel, experiencing extreme failure, or an accident. However, with complex PTSD, the trigger and core wound could start as early as the childhood and developmental ages. Adults who face some form of emotional abuse and abandonment tend to form personalities that can cope with such events, but these ‘avatars’ only learn to perpetuate the same cycles over and over again. If PTSD refers to episodes where a patient relives the same traumatic flashbacks, C-PTSD makes a person re-enact the same dynamic or narrative over and over with different people throughout their life unless they get help.
- Perfectionism mixed with high functioning archetype: you may think that people with C-PTSD may also display phases of panic, anxiety, and depression due to their trauma. However, many patients of C-PTSD are high-functioning people in real life. They also tend to hyperfocus on perfectionism to control the outcome of their actions tightly. This is another reason why diagnosis may occur late or never be caught.
- Therapy can take much longer: Therapy for C-PTSD patients takes much longer considering the number of layers their disorder hides under. However, prescription marijuana and buy my weed online cannabis supplements have been shown to help in healing the disorder quicker. It gives patients the space to heal themselves without their triggers getting in the way. CBD and THC are some of the most effective compounds to help relax hyperfocus or episodes where the trigger takes over their behavior.
- Leads to self-sabotaging behaviors: What makes C-PTSD a slowly sinking boat is that the patients can resort to self-sabotage unintentionally if they do not seek help. Most of these practices are insidious like procrastination, diversion, instant gratification, and substance abuse. The patient doesn’t often understand the reason for their self-sabotage, which is why therapy or neuroplasty is so essential. With the help of an experienced professional, the patient can break decades-worth toxic cycles and lead a healthier life.
Wrapping Up
The research about C-PTSD is an ongoing work in progress, with not many resources available for patients to understand themselves better. However, the advancement of neurological sciences and psychology promise growth. We hope that this blog shed some much-needed light.