Yes, when someone has PTSD they are very sensitive (hyper-aware). So that means all the senses are sensitive and hyper-aware. The mind/sensory system tends to catastrophize and it's not a conscious decision to be that way.

Part of the problem is that someone with PTSD or Complex PTSD has been traumatized, either by a big trauma or growing up in a situation where there was abuse and neglect and no real comfort and understanding or even how to process and react to what is being experienced that is harmful in some way.

Part of the challenge is that someone struggling is so sensitive and if anything reminds them of any of these unmet needs or being hurt/threatened it triggers them to feel the way they did when they were being hurt, or even experience some flashbacks where the mind is actually re-experiencing the event/events. And if they are with others who don't understand them and utter "just" comments, it only is a reminder yet again where an individual was hurt and not comforted and helped so it's insult to injury.

What does help is being with others that understand the "injury/hurt" and validate it and listen and instead of suggesting and "just comments" or any kind of blaming they continue to comfort and validate and encourage in respectful positive ways. Also, the individual who is struggling needs to learn how to also self comfort and have patience with self and understand that how they are hurt is really not their fault and to make sure not to self blame which is often what they were encouraged to do by lack of nurturing or dealing with an abusive controlling presence.

Human beings are designed to "thrive" when they are given permission to do so by positive nurturing, part of that includes being physically comforted which produces oxytocin which our human bodies are very receptive and responsive to, it really does calm and encourage "it's ok, I am here to help you and love you". All individuals that struggle look for a "rescuer", that is how human beings are designed to be, we are like that because out of all of the mammels, human beings are fragile for a lot longer before they develop the capacity to self protect better.

When a child is raised by an adult that did not have the right nurturing themselves, often that adult can find giving the correct nurturing very difficult, even may feel threatened themselves because often it is a subconscious reminder of how they themselves were not nurtured.

So an individual that develops complex PTSD needs to experience the right kind of help to help them understand this, validate to them how they were treated badly, and work with them while they slowly learn how to heal. And individual often continues to be sensitive, however, as the individual has help to review what was wrong and how they were hurt and finally slowly learns "why" and how to finally understand "all" of how they were hurt and how to recognize the reminders are in the past and now they understand it better and can embrace the now with that understanding, these individuals do gain on their ability to heal and slowly feel better. There is definitely a grieving process to this healing, patience and time and support is important to this healing and gaining.