today we're going to be talking about complex ptsd what it is and what it looks like
hi everyone you've probably heard about ptsd or post-traumatic stress disorder
but have you ever heard the term complex ptsd in today's video we're going to be talking about some
of the characteristics of complex ptsd and some of the ways in which complex ptsd develops but before
i get into that just a couple of disclaimers to go over i'm a registered psychologist in the province
of british columbia canada and this video is for informational purposes only it is not intended as
a substitute or replacement for advice from your doctor or mental health professional
now with those things out of the way let's start talking about complex ptsd
now complex ptsd is a condition that often develops after exposure to a series of events
that are extremely threatening or horrifying in nature most often the stressors in complex ptsd
tend to involve prolonged or repeated events in which the person can't escape or can't get away
from whatever the stressor uh or the assault is this can include things like childhood neglect
or repeated childhood sexual or physical abuse domestic violence situations torture
being a prisoner of war experiencing human trafficking prostitution living in a region
affected by war or genocide one of the key features about these types of traumatic events
is that they usually involve a high degree of interpersonal violence or some act of
harm or malevolence inflicted by one person against another usually when the victim of the
violence is vulnerable or defenseless like when they're a child or if they are a prisoner of war
as a result stemming from these experiences a person can develop a variety of ptsd symptoms and
i've discussed some of the common symptoms of ptsd in a lot of detail in a previous video and
if you want to learn more about those symptoms of ptsd i'd encourage you to take a look at that
video because i talk about these symptoms in a lot of detail but in brief the symptoms of ptsd tend
to fall into four main clusters of symptoms the first is the re-experiencing symptoms and these
are the ones that people most commonly think of when they think about ptsd so intrusive unwanted
memories and thoughts about the traumatic events nightmares flashbacks uh emotional distress or
panic reactions when triggered by reminders of the traumatic events
the second cluster of symptoms are avoidance symptoms so putting effort into trying not
to think about or trying not to talk about the traumatic events avoiding situations
places or activities that may bring up reminders of the traumatic events those types of things
the third cluster of symptoms is negative changes in thoughts and mood symptoms so uh
changes in terms of feelings of self-blame uh emotional numbing or emotional flatness almost
feeling undead or robotic inside a sense of detachment and disconnection from other
people a loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy doing
strong negative beliefs about yourself other people the world more generally
and finally there are the hyper-arousal symptoms things like difficulty controlling or managing
anger or irritability hyper-awareness or hyper-vigilance to your environment
being easily startled concentration problems sleep difficulties those types of symptoms
now in complex ptsd the individual experiences all of the same symptoms that fall into each of these
four symptom clusters of ptsd but in addition the individual can experience other symptoms that
that the way i like to think about them is they're it's almost like they're magnified
or supercharged versions of the changes in thoughts and mood symptoms of ptsd so complex ptsd
uh involves sort of three clusters of symptoms so difficulty sustaining relationships and feeling
close to other people having a very strong negative self-concept that involves feelings
of worthlessness guilt or shame and problems in managing emotional reactions so let's start
talking about each of these so the first interpersonal problems so the interpersonal
problems in complex ptsd can include things like social and interpersonal avoidance
the person may tend to avoid relationships they may feel a sense of distance or being cut off
from other people or they may not not feel close to anyone the individual may experience high
levels of interpersonal sensitivity and what i mean by this is that their feelings are easily
hurt leading to angry outbursts or difficulties in forming or maintaining interpersonal relationships
other relationship difficulties include problems trusting other people in continuing and unhealthy
relationships because those are the types of relationships that the person knows it's it's
familiar they they believe that those are kind of what relationships are supposed to be like
the the second subset of complex ptsd symptoms involves beliefs that a person may have
about themselves so seeing themselves as broken defeated or worthless
having strong feelings of shame guilt failure related to the traumatic events
the person may experience a change in how they perceive themselves feeling uh totally different
from other people due to these strong feelings of shame and guilt they may see themselves as
contaminated or evil or may feel like they're no longer human at all empty almost robotic inside
this is sometimes referred to as almost like a mental pollution or a mental contamination
it's almost like an internal sense of contamination that a person can't get rid of
the person may also experience a loss of their understanding of
what's meaningful in life they may lose a sense of what their core beliefs are what their values are
they may lose a sense of their religious faith or hope in the world and other people more generally
now this experience has sometimes been referred to as mental death almost like the individual loses
their pre-trauma sense of self uh this mental death is associated with a loss of faith and
beliefs a perception that i'm different from other people or that i'm damaged
a feeling that i'm alienated and i'm unable to sort of connect with or to trust other people
now the final subset of complex ptsd symptoms involves a person having difficulty managing
their own emotions and this is sometimes referred to as emotional dysregulation
and this emotional dysregulation can take a variety of forms it can take the form of
self-destructive behaviors excessive risk-taking behaviors or self-harming behaviors
this may be driven by a sense of self-loathing or even just a general ambivalence about life i just
don't really care the person may have difficulty regulating their emotions resulting in explain
extreme displays of anger such as road rage or yelling or lashing out with violent aggression
even with a relatively sort of minor provocation they may experience extreme mood swings
fluctuating between periods of like intense anger to sadness to feelings of hopelessness and despair
and so what you might recognize is that these symptom clusters
can also feed into one another so for example is the emotional dysregulation this can
serve to this can contribute to severe interpersonal difficulties
uh in friendships romantic family romantic and family relationships and work relationships
so the more emotionally dysregulated i am the more interpersonal problems i'm likely to have
so the key to understand is that in complex ptsd it tends to have all of the same symptom clusters
of ptsd it includes all the same re-experiencing avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms but it also
tends to include more severe and problematic negative alterations and thought and mood symptoms
including these difficulties in relationships the person's perception that they're broken
damaged fundamentally different from other people
and difficulties managing and regulating their emotional states
so i hope that i hope that gives you a better sense of what complex ptsd is
some of the the nature of the symptoms of complex ptsd and how ptsd complex ptsd arises from these
uh kind of repetitive and prolonged exposures to um traumatic events over a span of time
i'd love to hear your thoughts or ideas or questions about this so please leave me some
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