What causes cptsd?

It is very likely that you may not have heard of complex Post Traumatic Stress before.

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (cPTSD) is a relatively new label given to a collection of traits and behaviours that a person has that stem from being exposed to repetitive stressful and toxic experiences or environments that could not be escaped from.

It doesn’t yet appear in the DSM as a formal diagnosis on its own, often being lumped in with PTSD. However, through the work of Bessel van der Kolk MD complex PTSD is now being recognised by many professionals, medical and a like.

In the past, the diagnosis that was given was often developmental trauma, attachment trauma, psychological trauma, emotional trauma or complex trauma.

But it is still, as was my own experience, being diagnosed in some cases as a number of other conditions. Such as; chronic depression, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) along with physical conditions such as autoimmune disorders.
(Please be aware, having these conditions does NOT mean you automatically have cPTSD ).

cPTSD symptoms stem from being exposed to repetitive stressful and toxic experiences or environments that could not be escaped from.

PTSD is usually from traumatic event/s in adulthood, cPTSD is usually attributed to traumatic events that occurred in childhood.

Although it is not exclusively from childhood; cPTSD could for instance be a result of experiencing an abusive, controlling or coercive relationship as an adult.

The key difference in the cause of PTSD and cPTSD are that cPTSD develops after there has been multiple exposures to highly stressful and consequently traumatic experiences over a longer period of time.

As a child is still developing and growing, being exposed to on-going, overwhelming stress means that higher levels of cortisol, adrenalin and other neurochemicals flood their body and nervous system.

The brain and nervous system is altered in its development during this time, resulting in long-term, chronic traits which impact emotional and physical wellbeing as an adult.

Having a sound understanding of the different ways stress and trauma impact a developing body compared to that of an adult is important when starting to look at what the journey to managing and recovery from cPTSD looks and feels like.