In infancy and early childhood, if we are traumatized and made fearful, we may automatically and unconsciously react by contracting our muscles. This automatic physiological response is linked to the ‘fight/flight’ state and evolved because, for our ancestors, it was adaptive and served to help protect us. Once we become adults, this physiological response can …
How Childhood Trauma Can Affect Our Adult Posture Read More »
Effects of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination: A meta-analysis (a research technique that merges together the results of many, independent studies) of 214 studies (the majority of these were carried out in the United States) that examined 91,000 young people between the ages of 10 years and 20 years found that discrimination on the grounds of …
Children Affected By Racism Surprisngly Early In Life Read More »
Research carried out by Carrion et al.(2016) suggests that the experience of childhood trauma affects boys and girls differently. More specifically, childhood trauma appears to have different effects on male and female brains. The research involved 59 young people between the ages of nine years and seventeen years. Using brain scans it was found that …
Trauma Affects Boys’ And Girls’ Brains Differently Read More »
We have seen how severe and protracted childhood trauma can have various adverse physiological effects such as increased production of the stress hormone cortisol, hyperventilation, and fatigue. However, there is one possible effect of extreme, early life stress that is not often discussed, namely the effect on the voice. That the voice can be affected …
Possible Effects Of Childhood Trauma On The Voice Read More »
Research carried out by Carrion et al.(2016) suggests that the experience of childhood trauma affects boys and girls differently. More specifically, childhood trauma appears to have different effects on male and female brains. The research involved 59 young people between the ages of nine years and seventeen years. Using brain scans it was found that …
Childhood Trauma Affects Boys’ And Girls’ Brains Differently Read More »
We have seen that those who endure protracted childhood trauma are at increased risk of developing psychological and physical problems later in life, including complex post-traumatic). stress (complex PTSD. We have also seen that such individuals are often exquisitely sensitive to any form of stress and frequently stuck in a state of hypervigilance (i.e. constantly …
‘Shaking Therapy’ For Reducing Stress Associated With Complex PTSD Read More »
One of the hallmarks of both complex PTSD and borderline persona; disorder (BPD) is a feeling of constant anxiety, agitation and apprehensiveness, As a result of feeling trapped and imprisoned in this distressing state, individuals become desperate to escape it which frequently leads to behaviours that they later regret. Briere et al. (2009) stress the …
TRANSGRESSION OF ONE’S OWN MORAL VALUES PTSD/complex PTSD can come about as a result of acting in a way that grossly transgresses one’s own moral values. For example, I have written elsewhere about children who have committed homicide after years of severe abuse and, as a result, whose complex PTSD is brought about not …
Focusing on Moral Injury to Treat PTSD/Complex PTSD Read More »
Sometimes, people who have experienced significant and protracted childhood trauma e.g. in the form of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse may become fixated on their traumatic experiences and unconsciously addicted to recreating them in their adult lives. For example, those who suffered sexual abuse may become prostitutes (e.g. Finkelhor and Brown, 1985), and those who …
FIXATION ON THREAT Those with complex PTSD frequently find it very hard to prevent themselves by over-focusing, sometimes to an obsessive degree, on perceived threats, particularly threats that remind them of their childhood adverse experiences. And, because of such fixation, complex PTSD sufferers may find it extremely hard to redirect their attention to necessary, everyday …
Why Complex PTSD Sufferers May Over-Focus On Perceived Threat. Read More »
RECOVERED MEMORIES: FALSE, FACTUAL, AND NARRATIVE Recovered memories (i.e. memories that have been repressed due to their traumatic nature but later, often with the intervention of a therapist, breakthrough into conscious awareness (having previously been, in effect, largely buried in the unconscious. FALSE MEMORIES Unfortunately, ‘recovered memories can sometimes be false (this can happen, for …
Recovered Memories: False, Factual And Narrative Read More »
THE PROCESSING OF NORMAL MEMORIES: Normal memories that have been fully processed have a temporal context that enables us to remember when, or roughly when, they happened. In other words, the memories have what is sometimes figuratively referred to as a ‘date stamp.’ The ‘date stamp’ is attached to the memory the part of the …
Explaining Traumatic Memories With The Linen Cupboard Metaphor Read More »
931-word article METACOGNITIVE THERAPY (MCT) Metacognitive therapy (MCT) was developed by Dr. Adrian Wells and Dr. Gerald Matthews in the early 1990s. It shares elements in common with but is distinct from, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The main difference is that whilst CBT concentrates upon the negative CONTENT of a person’s thoughts and strives to alter that …
Metacognitive Therapy For Borderline Personality Disorder And Other Conditions Read More »
A systematic review conducted by Wahbey et al.and published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine was carried out in order to assess the effectiveness of various complementary and alternative therapies for PTSD using Natural-Standard evidence-based, validated grading rationale. The following complementary and alternative therapies were assessed: REPETITIVE TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION ACUPUNCTURE HYPNOTHERAPY …
Do Alternative And Complimentary Therapy For PTSD Work? Read More »
478 word article Is it what happens to us in childhood that affects our mental health or is it how we PERCEIVE what happened to us as being the crucial factor? To help answer this question a study was undertaken by Danese and Widom (2020) The study involved two groups: GROUP ONE: 908 individuals who …
How We View Our Childhood Trauma Crucial To Our Mental Health Read More »
What Is A Pathological Liar? “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”― Friedrich Nietzsche Those who have suffered significant childhood trauma are more likely to become pathological liars / compulsive liars in adulthood than those who were lucky enough to experience a relatively …
Pathological Lying : Its Link To Childhood Trauma Read More »
A study conducted by Anderson and Blosnich (2013) was carried out in order to investigate whether or not gay and bisexual individuals had, on average, experienced more adverse childhood experiences than their heterosexual counterparts. Before we look at the study, it is worth very briefly reminding ourselves of the most well-known study on the effects …
Do Gay People Have More Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)? Read More »
It is becoming increasingly well known how the body is intrinsically connected to symptoms of PTSD and complex PTSD, and, accordingly, the vital role of physical therapies in helping to ameliorate these conditions. Indeed, in the UK, more and more doctors are prescribing interventions such as free gym memberships in order to help treat …
Very frequently those suffering complex PTSD have been extremely badly cared for or have been seriously psychologically harmed by those who were supposed to care for them. This, not surprisingly, can lead to a desperate and overwhelming need to be cared for as an adult. Tragically, though, such help is very often extremely hard to …
Desperate Measures: Pseudo-Seizures, Polysurgery And Double-Doctoring Read More »
Psychoeducation is a vital part of treatment for those suffering from complex PTSD and includes many vital elements and I briefly outline the main ones below: The patient/client should be provided with an understanding of what is meant by the terms ‘trauma’ and ‘complex trauma’ including their symptoms. The patient/client should also be helped to …
Crucial Features Of Psychoeducation For Sufferers Of Complex PTSD Read More »
