TLDR: C-PTSD
C-PTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a mental health condition caused by repeated or long-term trauma. It can affect emotional regulation, self-worth and the ability to form or maintain relationships.
People with C-PTSD may struggle with shame, guilt, low self-esteem and feeling broken or worthless, alongside difficulties with trust, closeness and emotional stability that impact daily life.
C-PTSD can develop after prolonged trauma such as childhood abuse or neglect, severe bullying, domestic violence, exploitation, trafficking, or living in a hostile or unsafe environment.
C-PTSD usually requires trauma-focused therapy, such as EMDR, DBT, somatic therapies or Internal Family Systems (IFS), which help process trauma, regulate emotions and rebuild a sense of safety.
These therapies work by helping the brain and body reprocess traumatic experiences, reduce emotional overwhelm, and improve coping, self-understanding and relationships over time.
This article was written by a young person, 20.
What is C-PTSD?
C-PTSD is a mental health condition where a person has experienced multiple traumatic events in their life. This causes them to develop long-term issues that affect their physical and emotional regulation, causing them to see themselves in a negative light, and creates difficulty forming and maintaining relationships with other people.
What are the symptoms of C-PTSD?
People with C-PTSD can often see themselves as worthless, defeated and broken, while having feelings of shame, guilt or failure related to the traumatic event. There can also be difficulty in sustaining relationships or feeling close to other people which can cause significant impairment to a person’s personal, social, work, educational and family life.
What causes C-PTSD?
C-PTSD can be caused by a range of traumatic events. For example:
- Childhood abuse or neglect
- Severe bullying
- Domestic violence
- Prolonged abuse (physical, emotional, verbal, mental and sexual)
- Hostile environment
- Trafficking
- Slavery
- Other long-term traumatic events
C-PTSD Treatment Options
C-PTSD is a trauma based mental health condition which requires trauma based therapy.
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Somatic Experience and Exposure Therapy
- Integral Family Systems Model
EMDR focuses on processing and resolving traumatic memories by using guided eye movements while recalling traumatic memories. This process helps the brain reprocess these memories, reducing emotional impact.
DBT helps improve intense emotions within the body, while improving the ability to cope with difficult situations and improve interpersonal relationships.
Somatic experience is a body-focused therapy where it aims to release trauma stored within the body. It helps regulate the nervous system and discharge trauma-related stress responses.
The integral family systems model focuses on accessing parts of your wounded self by working on your inner and outer self. It looks at how you are as a person, your wounds and your relationships with other people, helping to address your emotions and interpersonal connections.
Young Voices
A young person, 24, shares their experience with C-PTSD.
When did I realise I have C-PTSD?
I was in my early 20s and I remember scrolling through social media, and for some reason, I just kept seeing the term C-PTSD around.
I always thought PTSD was for people who were war veterans because it was always portrayed as something extreme that had to happen to you, which I didn’t go through. So there was no way my symptoms were complex.
Prior to this, I was in and out of counselling for several years where I kept going back to counselling for the same reason. But every time I had completed my sessions and felt better, it didn’t take long for me to start feeling traumatised again, and my brain looped around the traumatic event.
I had a counsellor who asked me questions that ultimately led me to unlock new memories inside my brain. It turned out that it wasn’t just one traumatic event, but multiple events which my brain had managed to suppress. This discovery was quite painful and emotional as I started piecing my life together.
After researching what C-PTSD is and understanding the symptoms of it, I had managed to document a timeline of all the traumatic events that had happened to me. I realised how much I was affected by everything from being a child, to a teenager, to a young adult and how all these events unconsciously led to me being who I am today.
How has this affected my life?
Having C-PTSD affects me a lot, and it still does today because I am managing everything by myself while trying to function as a ‘normal’ human being.
I used to think my life was pretty normal. I did my GCSEs, A-levels, went to university, had multiple friends and was managing work, and interpersonal relationships.
Looking back I can see how many people, friends, family and even people in positions of power would take advantage of me, further contributing to my condition. As a child, I suffered trauma, bullying and bodyshaming. Even after graduating, people I considered friends wouldn’t speak to me or want to hang out. I started avoiding places and people so I wouldn’t have to relive the moments or events. I started experiencing additional issues such as: chronic health conditions, multiple mental health issues, attachment disorders and feeling like I am constantly a failure in survival mode as a result of C-PTSD.
It silently followed me around for years, except I couldn’t notice it. My whole life, I struggled with belonging. I realised how I always have a negative self-perception of myself because no matter what I do, it never feels enough. It also has led me to struggle a lot with finding healthy and meaningful connections. I would one day go from being fine to suddenly feeling really angry or emotional over tiny things.
Anything that would keep me grounded or make me function as a normal person, I didn’t have these anymore. So that bubble that I was always in essentially burst and I saw that things just never worked out for me. I became tired of being the glue holding everything together, ensuring everything is perfect.
How did I realise I need to seek help?
After years of counselling, my symptoms weren’t getting better. It felt like everything was piling on top of me, and the pile was just getting bigger and bigger. I found out that there were other types of therapy that could help, and CBT isn’t always effective for those who have gone through multiple traumas.
I went to my GP for help. I met with a mental health nurse with my timeline and told her what had happened to me in the past and this is how it affects me today.
I had to self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies. I underwent a PCL-5 assessment, met the score for PTSD/C-PTSD, and am currently awaiting an appointment with a counsellor for my symptoms and problems.
How do I manage my symptoms while waiting for treatment?
At home, I manage my symptoms by listening to music or journalling/scrapbooking. This has really helped me organise my thoughts, as well as practise grounding exercises when I am stressed.
I also try to see myself from other people’s perspective. Even though I might see myself as struggling, others see me as someone who works hard and tries their best to help others.
Getting out of my head really helped because I would always live inside my own world. Once I realised how people view me as a positive influence and someone who cares for their surroundings and is actively involved in the community, I saw how I am not a failure, I have to turn the negatives into positives.
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