Can I Overcome CPTSD?

Being diagnosed with CPTSD, Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, can be a scary thing, even more so if you don’t understand what CPTSD is.

You may have been told by your GP that you have CPTSD, been given medication, put on a waitlist for counselling or psychotherapy and have been left to wrap your head around what is CPTSD.

PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a more commonly known term. But often thought that PTSD only applied to soldiers of war. Indeed I was contacted by a young woman seeking help having experienced a sexual assault. She had been told by her GP that PTSD only applies to veterans of war, so there’s still a lot of training that needs to take place when it comes to PTSD and CPTSD.

From working with trauma for more than a decade, many clients I work with who have received a diagnosis of CPTSD start by thinking that CPTSD is a permanent condition and that there is something wrong with them.

What is CPTSD?

Before I delve into how you can overcome CPTSD, let’s first start with understanding what CPTD is.

The key difference between PTSD and CPTSD is the amount of traumatic incidents and events someone has been subject to. Take the example of someone who works in the emergency services. In many cases, these individuals can be exposed to intense and traumatic situations regularly, and therefore are more likely to experience CPTSD. The same can be said for someone who was bullied, in an abusive relationship or whose ex-partner was a narcissist.

With PTSD, the event tends to be an isolated event such as an accident, an assault or witnessing something. Rates of PTSD skyrocketed for example after 9,11 when people were witnessing the horror on television.

How to treat CPTSD

You may be surprised to know that CPTSD can be simply and effectively treated without you having to go into the details of the whole experience. Indeed, many traditional approaches to treating CPTSD such as counselling can re-traumatise an individual by re-living the events.

Instead, with interventions such as Hypnotherapy and EFT Tapping, CPTSD can be treated effectively in a short space of time without the need to revisit the past.

Let me start by sharing with you the story of Laura. Laura is a Commercial Manager for a renewable energy company. Laura reached out to me after her GP had told her she had CPTSD and signed her off work for a month.

Laura knew she had experienced trauma having been in an abusive marriage for 5 years. But she didn’t understand what CPTSD was.

Laura has escaped the marriage but is co-parenting with her ex-husband their 2 young boys.

Over the previous 6 months, Laura had been aware her performance at work had dipped. She had gone from being a confident and capable woman to struggling to focus. Feeling a complete lack of energy and motivation and a complete loss of confidence.

Her self-esteem had also taken a bashing and she’d gained weight.

Laura shared with me that she was feeling quite anxious about having to talk about her past. I reassured Laura that we wouldn’t rake over her past, which was a big relief to her.

Over a series of only 8 sessions, I used a combination of Hypnotherapy, MAP and EFT Tapping Therapy on Laura. Each session has processed the trauma Laura experienced during her marriage. After each session, she left feeling lighter and stronger. She saw that there was hope for her! As a result, Laura got back into running and picking up her old hobbies and interests. Her mind is sharper and calmer and her sleep has significantly improved. A big break though for Laura was no longer viewing her ex-husband as a threat and believing he had control over her. As a result, she feels stronger and more empowered.

As part of her journey, I helped Laura to understand what CPTSD is. I explained that she had experienced ongoing trauma in her marriage, and that’s why it was CPTSD and not PTSD.

In our conversation, I explained to Laura how the brain and body respond to trauma. I helped her see that her decline in performance was not a reflection of her capability. Having returned to work, Laura has experienced this for herself. She has found, to her delight, that she’s performing better than ever in her job!

Laura is one of hundreds of clients I have supported to overcome both PTSD and CPTSD and you can too!

No matter what trauma you have experienced, you can overcome CPTSD. The events that took place may have happened many years ago, possibly as childhood trauma in the form of sexual abuse, neglect or physical abuse. Time doesn’t play a factor in how effectively you can be treated for CPTSD. Time is simply an indicator that you have held onto this trauma and it’s time to step onto the pathway of healing and release yourself from the past.

Your next step to a brighter happier healthier future starts with the first step. Take yours now by booking your free consultation.

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Sara Maude

Sara Maude is an Edinburgh Hypnotherapist, Solution-Focused Psychotherapist, EFT Practitioner, Transformational Coach and International Wellbeing Trainer providing in-person and online sessions. Sara provides problem-free therapy which goes deep into the heart of the unconscious mind to create powerful lasting change.