It’s not unusual to have adverse reactions to a traumatic or stressful situation that you experienced, like flashbacks or wanting to avoid reminders of what took place. In time and with quality self-care, most people can shake off the bad memories of the trauma and go about their lives without much interruption. But some people – an estimated 6% of adults in the United States – aren’t as lucky and develop a mental health condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Unfortunately, PTSD can morph into something far worse and even less understood, an amped-up version of the same condition that mental health experts have named Complex PTSD (CPTSD). In this case, people with CPTSD exhibit at least three unique symptom clusters: emotional dysregulation, negative self-cognitions, and interpersonal hardship. This makes diagnosis and treatment challenging, but some of the symptoms can be successfully managed with medicine like ketamine.
What to know about Complex PTSD?
Many traumatic incidents like car crashes and natural disasters don’t necessarily last exceptionally long. But in some cases, people may struggle with chronic trauma that’s continual and reappears for months or years, which may indicate the presence of CPTSD. Some experts posit that PTSD diagnosis doesn’t wholly encapsulate the severe mental harm with extended, repeated trauma.
Complex PTSD has the symptoms of PTSD and its unique symptoms linked to prolonged trauma, like difficulties in regulating emotions in certain situations, self-concept or how you perceive yourself, and navigating interpersonal relationships. Because of the nuances of Complex PTSD, the U.S. National Institute of Health, the World Health Organization, and other medical and scientific entities need to re-evaluate how the condition is diagnosed.
Symptoms that are found in both PTSD and Complex PTSD include:
- Recurrent flashbacks and bad dreams
- Dizziness or nausea when thinking about what happened
- An extreme fight-or-flight response and hypervigilance
- You believe the world is a dangerous place and see threats everywhere
- You’re easily startled
- Feelings about yourself and others are constantly changing
- You need to avoid anything that reminds you of what happened, like people, places, and other reminders
- You have a deep sense of detachment from other people
- A confluence of emotions, like anger, fear, guilt, sadness, or shame
- You have low self-worth and poor self-esteem
- Your reaction to the symptoms may zigzag between sleep problems, trouble concentrating, risky behavior, or ill-tempered outbursts.
- Drug abuse
But as we mentioned, CPTSD also features unique symptoms to watch for, including:
- CPTSD may lead those who have it to regard themselves as different from others.
- Your beliefs and worldview may change. As an example, you lose faith in previous convictions and harbor a negative perception of the rest of the world.
- There could be meaningful relationship issues, often due to mistrust or a sense of inadequacy related to the other person’s needs or wants. In some cases, you may, without thinking, seek out abusive partners and maintain a toxic relationship because it’s what you feel accustomed to or harbors a sense of belonging.
- If you have CPTSD, you may become completely detached from what happened and forget it even occurred.
- In the case of abuse triggering your CPTSD, you may be preoccupied or obsessed with your abuser. Worse, you may cede control of your life to this person, have distorted perceptions of who this person is, or be preoccupied with revenge.
Like PTSD and other mental health conditions, Complex PTSD can have devastating consequences for the person who has it and for family, friends, and anyone else they meet. Someone who has it should get immediate medical care.
Diagnosis & Treatment
There are no criteria to define CPTSD, which leaves people who have it and mental health specialists trying to diagnose it struggling to understand what’s happening. Most healthcare professionals regard Complex PTSD as an evolving, challenging diagnosis that needs more attention to clearly understand and recommend treatment options. But even with that caveat, a healthcare provider or mental health specialist is best equipped to offer a diagnosis.
You can expect a thorough medical examination to uncover or rule out a cause for your symptoms, plus a mental health assessment to ferret your thoughts, feelings, and behavior as potential triggers. If there’s a medical problem, it can often be treated. Mental health ailments are a challenge and may involve psychotherapy, self-help, lifestyle changes, antidepressants, and medicine like ketamine to control CPTSD symptoms.