Complex PTSD (or C-PTSD) is an anxiety condition that involves many of the same symptoms of PTSD along with other symptoms. First recognized as a condition that affects war veterans, PTSD can be caused by any number of traumatic events, such as a car accident, natural disaster, near-death experience, or other isolated acts of violence or abuse. Complex PTSD, on the other hand, is related to a series of traumatic events over time or one prolonged event. The symptoms of complex PTSD can be similar but more enduring and extreme than those of PTSD. Living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) might mean behaving recklessly or having feelings of hostility or dissociation that make daily life difficult. You may feel like you’ve lost your sense of spirituality or feel overwhelmed by shame.
What is CPTSD?
Your therapist will help you focus on the current problems in your life which were caused by adverse childhood experiences and how to resolve them today. Thus, early definitions of CPTSD identified both a type of trauma and a set of symptoms and characterological changes that emerged from those trauma types. In response, the field trials conducted to inform the DSM-IV included a set of symptoms meant to assess DESNOS symptoms in addition to PTSD symptoms (for the specific symptoms included in the field trials, see van der Kolk et al., 2005 (4)). When it comes to C-PTSD, the harmful effects of oppression and racism can add layers to complex trauma experienced by individuals. Both PTSD and C-PTSD result from the experience of something deeply traumatic and can cause flashbacks, nightmares, and insomnia.
VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD (
Often those who live with the diagnosis of CPTSD feel intense shame about their bodies and their appearance. This description isn’t to say that survivors feel they are special than other people, but rather that they feel they don’t fit into any crowd. The loneliness that these feelings of detachment from other people bring is palpable. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) made the decision to include C-PTSD as its own separate diagnosis in the 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11). Trying to engage in everyday activities can be a key step for people working toward leading healthy, balanced lives. Research shows that 61% of Black non-Hispanic children and 51% of Hispanic children in the U.S. have experienced at least one ACE, compared with 40% of white non-Hispanic children and 23% of ptsd blackouts Asian non-Hispanic children.
The Perspective of Others: Understanding PTSD Blackouts from the Outside
If you or someone you know has Complex PTSD and memory loss, it is vital that they receive treatment from a trauma-focused mental health expert. Also, those facing substance use challenges as a result of unmet mental health needs might find treatment options to address both alcohol and drug problems concurrently through Hanley Center. A holistic and integrated therapy approach is typically required when treating patients with both C-PTSD and substance use disorders. To treat C-PTSD symptoms, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), as well as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) or other therapies, may be utilized.
- The therapist will ask you to relate a scenario you have been working on in private therapy and to choose people from the group to represent the other people involved.
- You may feel like you’ve lost your sense of spirituality or feel overwhelmed by shame.
- A 2022 article notes that people with complex PTSD had consistently negative self-conceptions, while people with BPD had unstable and changing self-conceptions.
- These blackouts can be particularly distressing for both the individual and those around them, often leading to feelings of guilt, shame, and confusion.
- While blackouts represent one extreme of memory disruption, individuals with PTSD may also experience hypermnesia, or extremely vivid and intrusive memories of traumatic events.
Unlike age-related memory decline or the effects of certain medications, PTSD blackouts are typically episodic and closely tied to traumatic experiences. They may also be accompanied by other dissociative symptoms, such as depersonalization or derealization, which are less common in other forms of memory loss. According to the study results, both PTSD and depression were linked with symptoms of memory loss, affecting memory related to both traumatic events and short-term daily tasks.