A person who is hypervigilant feels constantly ‘on edge’, ‘keyed up’ and fearful. S/he experiences a perpetual sense of dread and of being under threat despite the fact, objectively speaking, there is no present danger. Indeed, the person affected in this way is so intensely alert to, and focused upon, any conceivable imminent danger that …
How Childhood Trauma Can Cause Hypervigilance And Treatments Read More »
What Factors Make The Symptoms Of Complex PTSD Even More Serious? We have seen from several other articles that I have published on this site that the experience of a traumatic childhood is linked to the development of complex PTSD later on in life. Whilst all cases of complex PTSD are extremely serious, certain factors …
“It was as if her life had been brought to a full stop: she couldn’t look forward, couldn’t picture what tomorrow might bring.” Ragnar Jonasson, The Darkness Those suffering from Complex PTSD may live their lives as if there is, literally, no tomorrow. This might include spending all of their money as …
Complex PTSD And ‘A Sense Of A Foreshortened Future.’ Read More »
Because there is considerable overlap in symptoms between those suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) and those suffering from complex posttraumatic disorder (complex PTSD), those with the latter condition can be misdiagnosed as suffering from the former condition. In order to help clarify the differences between the two conditions and help show how they are …
What Are The Differences Between BPD And Complex PTSD? A Study Read More »
The term neurocounseling refers to a form of therapies that seek to take advantage of the relatively recent neuroscientific discovery that the human brain has far more NEUROPLASTICITY than was previously believed to be the case. What Is Neuroplasticity? The brain’s quality of neuroplasticity can be defined as its capacity to be physically changed, not …
Neurocounseling And Its Relevance To Treating Complex-PTSD Read More »
Retraumatization: If the trauma we experienced as children was severe enough, we may, as adults, at one time or another, require residential psychiatric care (such as inpatient treatment on a psychiatric ward in a hospital, as was necessary in my own case on several occasions). Obviously, the quality of the care we receive in …
Retraumatization Caused By Psychiatric Care Institutions Read More »
TRAUMA TRIGGERS are events/occurrences that remind us (on either a conscious or unconscious level) of our original traumatic experiences causing us to feel extreme distress similar to that felt at the time of that original trauma. We are particularly likely to be affected by triggers at times of acute stress. Some examples of trauma triggers …
A particular torment of nightmares is, of course, that after a day spent in mental anguish in a state of wakefulness, they prevent one from escaping this mental pain even in sleep so there is no respite from one’s suffering. Indeed, when one has intense and terrible nightmares, one fears going to sleep; for us, it is not …
What Are The Factors That Put Us At Risk Of Complex PTSD? We have seen from other articles published on this site that if we have experienced significant and protracted trauma in childhood, we are at risk of developing complex PTSD as adults. However, there are many different factors at play that help to determine …
Are You At Increased Risk Of Complex PTSD From Childhood Trauma? Read More »
What is the best complex PTSD treatment? The NHS (UK) recommend that those suffering from complex PTSD undergo three stages of treatment. These are as follows : 1) STABILISATION 2) TRAUMA-FOCUSED THERAPY 3) REINTEGRATION Let’s look at each of these a little more closely : STABILIZATION: NHS guidelines suggest that during the first …
3 Stages Of Complex PTSD Treatment: Stabilisation, Therapy And Reintegration. Read More »
Unfortunately, as well as psychological effects, if we have developed complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) as a result of our childhood experiences (click here to read my article on the difference between PTSD and CPTSD), the condition can also give rise to adverse physical effects (i.e. bodily/somatic effects). The main reason for this is …
Complex PTSD: There has been some controversy regarding the difference between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD amongst researchers. During the early 1990s, the psychologist Judith Herman noted that individuals who had suffered severe, long-lasting, interpersonal trauma, ESPECIALLY IN EARLY LIFE, were frequently suffering from symptoms such as the following: – disturbance in their view …
