It is not easy to make sense of your Symptoms of Complex PTSD and PTSD and what keeps them in place; however, it is vital to your recovery process to be able to make sense of and give meaning to what you are experiencing.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its effects are bounded by the story of what has happened to us; core emotions of fear, anger or sadness and a loss of control, a feeling of overwhelming helplessness.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its effects are bounded by the story of what has happened to us; core emotions of fear, anger or sadness and a loss of control, a feeling of overwhelming helplessness.
The Steps of Dissociation Which Cause Symptoms of Complex PTSD and PTSD
Let us have a closer look by viewing the picture below:
To put it simply, each trauma, be it developmental or incidental, will have at its core a sense of overpowering helplessness. The impact of that will breach the boundaries and sense of self. Depending on the kind of trauma being confronted, there will be a core emotions which relates to the sense of overwhelming helplessness.
- If you have been attacked, had an accident or surgical operation, the core emotion that you relate to will most likely be fear.
- When you lose someone very close to you, the emotional response will be sadness.
- In terms of developmental issues, abuse and/or neglect, there is likely to be a sense of anger at the core.
When we are overwhelmed by emotion, it either turns in on itself or spills outwards.
The Way Forward in Recovery from Symptoms of Complex PTSD and PTSD
Emotion that turns inwards is always coupled with shame, guilt or self-reproach and is related to the story of what has happened. Emotion that flows outwards is always coupled with blame and the story of what took place. It is these coupled elements that keep trauma going, and which confuse emotion and the sense of helplessness into making the vicious cycle of the symptoms of Complex PTSD and PTSD continue to circle like a revolving door.
It is important to comprehend how this mechanism works before asking what can be done about it. That observation itself starts preparing the ground to uncouple the separate elements, step by step, and resolve your symptoms of Complex PTSD and PTSD.
How are you dealing with your symptoms of Complex PTSD or PTSD? Leave your comment below.