I do not agree that cPTSD is a combination of mood disorder plus PTSD. There are many of us with cPTSD who do not have mood disorders. I think to try and define something based on one person's experience and diagnosis is extremely problematic. That's why there are scientific studies done on these illnesses and demographic tracking. If cPTSD were simply the combination of a mood disorder and PTSD, then the DSM wouldn't be so hesitant to define it at all. It would be like schizoaffective, which is a combination of a mood disorder and schizophrenia.

It is widely accepted that trauma changes the brain. That's why they recommend therapy ASAP or people in traumatic experiences...to prevent that rewiring. However, that rewiring does not necessarily lead to a mood disorder. I feel this is faulty reasoning here.

What I do believe is true about cPTSD is that it develops after prolonged exposure to ongoing trauma/abuse/neglect and can affect us greatly in that almost everything in life becomes a trigger for some PTSD response, from hypervigilance to missplaced anger.

I think it's important to remember that just as PTSD will present itself different in each person that so will cPTSD. I do not think we should attempt to define it based on a few people's experience of it.

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