Trauma & Grief
Complex PTSD
Also known as C-PTSD
Prolonged or repeated trauma, often in childhood or in a relationship, that shapes how safe, worthy and in control you feel as a person.
What it can feel like
- Long-standing difficulty regulating emotion
- A persistent sense of worthlessness or shame
- Difficulty feeling close to, or trusting, other people
- Dissociation, numbness, or feeling unreal
- Flashbacks plus a background sense of threat
Not everyone has every symptom, and you do not need a label to deserve support.
Things that help
Start with stabilisation, not the story
Skills for managing big emotion and staying present come first. Retelling comes later, with support.
Notice the inner critic's age
Much of the shame is learned, not true. Naming whose voice it sounds like begins to loosen it.
Build one reliable relationship
Recovery happens around people. A therapist, a friend or a steady group is what slowly rewrites the expectation of harm.
Want to actually do these? Save them to your practices and tick them off as you go.
Add to my practicesWhen to reach for more support
Look for a therapist trained in complex trauma. Phase-based treatment is standard, so do not accept pressure to retell everything on day one.
Often looked at together
Adjustment Disorder
Distress that arrives within three months of a significant change, such as a breakup, job loss, illness or move, and outweighs what would be expected.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
A lasting stress response after a traumatic event, where the threat keeps replaying in the body long after it has ended.
Prolonged Grief Disorder
Grief that stays acute and disabling for over a year, where the loss dominates daily life and normal life does not resume.