[coolibrarian]

Last Wednesday, T told me that in addition to depression, SAD, and anxiety, she feels I also have PTSD. I asked what the trauma was and she said, "your mother's cruelty and abandonment." In the days since then, I've done some reading and it seems to me that what I most likely have is cptsd. The "c" stands for "complex" and differs from PTSD in that typically, in PTSD, the trauma is a one-time event. I don't see T again until next week. What do I do in the meantime? In cptsd, the trauma is repeating, ongoing, and harder to treat. T and I have had problems texting, so she won't text with me anymore.
There are a number of other complications. I joined the cptsd forum, but didn't feel comfortable. Here is where I feel most safe. Advice, comments, help?
Thanks,
Cool

[zoiecat]

I also believe I have c-ptsd because I had multiple repeating traumas throughout the first twenty-some years of my life. Even with that said my therapist doesn't acknowledge c-ptsd but he still says I have PTSD which to him means I qualify for the regular diagnosis through the DMS.

I would definitely discuss with your therapist but there is a great book on C PTSD called Running on Empty I highly recommend it.

[Omers]

Hi Cool, I have CPTSD with depression and anxiety.
My biggest suggestion is that this is just a new tool to allow you to better understand yourself. You haven’t changed, the diagnosis has been there a long time now the only new thing is that you have a term for it and it is on the table to talk about.

[tree7car]

My therapist has toyed with the idea of adding that for me. I too, would fit more under the complex PTSD, but that's not a real diagnosis in the DSM-5...only PTSD.

There are many different ways treat PTSD. I found it helpful to start out with my therapist on deciding on which types of therapy would work best for me in treating the PTSD. I hope you find what works best for you.

[sarahsweets]

I alwaays thought that ptsd was about many events not just limited to a specific one.

[ArtleyWilkins]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

I alwaays thought that ptsd was about many events not just limited to a specific one.

Generally it is a specific traumatic event that a person experiences or witnesses. For me there was an inciting event followed by additional compounding events, but they were all specific to that initial trauma. PTSD events could be something like a rape, a war event, a natural disaster, witnessing a death, etc. CPTSD is generally considered the result of chronic trauma so for instance the result on long-term repeated abuse.

The DSM does not use CPTSD as a diagnosis so if you are in the USA which functions under the DSM, officially they have to use PTSD as the diagnostic code.