The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

I have cPTSD. Feel free to AMA if you want to learn more about it and its treatments

Like the title says, I have cPTSD, I have tried multiple treatments. Happy to receive any questions but will say if I don't feel comfortable answering something. Anon for privacy :smile:
Reply 1
Avatar for lexii.
lexii.
11
Have you tried medication? and im always here if you need to talk!:smile:
Reply 2
Avatar for Anonymous #1
Anonymous #1
OP
Original post by lexii.
Have you tried medication? and im always here if you need to talk!:smile:

Hi! Yes I have. I have tried 8 or 9 different anti depressants (I have lost count at this point) as well as a medication to take during flashbacks and panic attacks to reduce anxiety. Unfortunately I haven't had much success and the medications that were more successful also caused some nasty side effects. My psychiatrist is keen to try other medications such as an anti psychotic so hopefully we will find something in the end that helps.

And thank you for the kind message I appreciate the offer to talk :smile:
Original post by Anonymous
Like the title says, I have cPTSD, I have tried multiple treatments. Happy to receive any questions but will say if I don't feel comfortable answering something. Anon for privacy :smile:

Do you ever get moments when you are thinking about everything and you suddenly start to get anxious or feel panicky? If so, how do you calm yourself down and stop those negative thoughts and feelings?
Reply 4
Avatar for Anonymous #1
Anonymous #1
OP
Original post by Anonymous
Do you ever get moments when you are thinking about everything and you suddenly start to get anxious or feel panicky? If so, how do you calm yourself down and stop those negative thoughts and feelings?

Hi, yeah I do get moments where I get very overwhelmed and then that leads to a panic attack. I am not great at coming out of a panic attack but find that having something soft like a fluffy jumper or toy to hold can be grounding. I also focus on my breathing and try slow it down. As for dealing with the negative thoughts, I am trying to imagine the same scenario but with a different person not me. I notice how differently I would talk about others compared to myself and I am trying to teach myself that I deserve the kindness I would give others and not hold myself to different standards
Original post by Anonymous
Hi, yeah I do get moments where I get very overwhelmed and then that leads to a panic attack. I am not great at coming out of a panic attack but find that having something soft like a fluffy jumper or toy to hold can be grounding. I also focus on my breathing and try slow it down. As for dealing with the negative thoughts, I am trying to imagine the same scenario but with a different person not me. I notice how differently I would talk about others compared to myself and I am trying to teach myself that I deserve the kindness I would give others and not hold myself to different standards

Thank you for sharing - I have been reading about grounding techniques recently and it sounds like good techniques to use.

How do you deal with sleep issues - if you have any - due to cPTSD?
What caused your cPTSD?
How is c-PTSD different from PTSD?
Reply 8
Avatar for Anonymous #1
Anonymous #1
OP
Original post by Anonymous
Thank you for sharing - I have been reading about grounding techniques recently and it sounds like good techniques to use.

How do you deal with sleep issues - if you have any - due to cPTSD?

I can always tell if I am not doing well based on my sleep because it is one of the first things that gets bad. I have a mixture of struggling to get to sleep (on a good day it takes 1-2 hours, bad day could be 3-4+). And then most nights I get very vivid nightmares, that at there worst will wake me up so distressed I end up puking.

The way I manage it is through good sleep hygiene, I make an effort to make my room dark by 9 and turn off electronics at about 10. To wind down before bed I either read, play a card game or watch a bit of netflix. I also stop doing uni work at about 7 so the stress of that doesn't keep me up
Reply 9
Avatar for Anonymous #1
Anonymous #1
OP
Original post by Anonymous
What caused your cPTSD?

I am going to be deliberately vague about this one just because it can be quite distressing to talk about, but essentially a few things. The environment I was raised in exposed me to multiple types of abuse and neglect, essentially from birth. I was also left in the care of a dangerous individual multiple times growing up and experienced a very traumatic one off assault. There is a bit more too it then that but that is what I am comfortable sharing
Original post by GoldenCrow
How is c-PTSD different from PTSD?

As far as I am aware, one of the main differences is c-PTSD is the result of more than one event or something that happened over a long period of time, usually in childhood. It has all the symptoms of ptsd as well as some additional ones such as finding it hard to control emotions, not trusting people, feeling damaged and hopeless, avoiding relationships, dissociation and frequent thoughts of harming yourself.
Original post by Anonymous
Hi, yeah I do get moments where I get very overwhelmed and then that leads to a panic attack. I am not great at coming out of a panic attack but find that having something soft like a fluffy jumper or toy to hold can be grounding. I also focus on my breathing and try slow it down. As for dealing with the negative thoughts, I am trying to imagine the same scenario but with a different person not me. I notice how differently I would talk about others compared to myself and I am trying to teach myself that I deserve the kindness I would give others and not hold myself to different standards

This is a great idea :smile: I've got anxiety and am looking for more grounding and reframing techniques. I keep an eye on triggers too and if Im feeling close to a panic attack, I try to go to a calmer place. Like if Im outside and feeling stressed/tired.
Reply 12
Avatar for Yazomi
Yazomi
21
Is hypnosis a possible treatment for ptsd?
Original post by Anonymous
As far as I am aware, one of the main differences is c-PTSD is the result of more than one event or something that happened over a long period of time, usually in childhood. It has all the symptoms of ptsd as well as some additional ones such as finding it hard to control emotions, not trusting people, feeling damaged and hopeless, avoiding relationships, dissociation and frequent thoughts of harming yourself.

So, if you are aware or know people with PTSD, do you feel different from them, aside from the subjective experiences and such, but mainly in diagnosis, treatment and behaviour?
Original post by Yazomi
Is hypnosis a possible treatment for ptsd?

I tried it and found it wasn't very helpful for me but everyone is different :smile:
Original post by GoldenCrow
So, if you are aware or know people with PTSD, do you feel different from them, aside from the subjective experiences and such, but mainly in diagnosis, treatment and behaviour?

I guess it is hard to know because I will never know how other people experience the world but I feel there are a few differences. Firstly, with (at least most cases) PTSD, people have a "before" whereas I don't so I feel the trauma I experienced influenced all aspects of me including my personality and who I am which I feel makes it harder to treat because I don't know where the trauma stops and I begin. I know diagnosis is tricky because there is overlap between ptsd, cptsd and bpd and at least in my case, because a lot of the abuse I experienced was "normal" to me, it wasn't until clinicians asked more questions that both them and me realised some of the things were abuse.

I think the NICE treatment guidelines differ slightly but for the most part are the same, in that trauma focused CBT or EMDR is the main treatment and that can be accompanied with medication. But I am not an expert!
How does the cPTSD affect you? What made you seek help in the first place?
No questions, but I'm glad you're getting help. I also have CPTSD and it's horrible to deal with. If you ever wanna chat, feel free to PM me. :h:
Original post by Anonymous
How does the cPTSD affect you? What made you seek help in the first place?

It affects me in many ways. I don't interact with may people because I don't trust them, I avoid movies and tv shows because of triggers (I have seen a grand total of three things on netflix), little things can send me on a spiral without warning. It is constantly feeling on edge, feeling unsafe and worrying actions will have consequences. Hearing, seeing or smelling something and experiencing flashbacks so vivid I feel sick and shaky and as if I am the child experiencing it for the first time.

Despite having had symptoms of MH problems from about the age of 7 I only sought help in my late teens and that was following an attempt on my life. Before that I had never spoken about my problems to anyone. Even then it was 4 years before I got the right help I needed

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you