What is c-PTSD or CPTSD?
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
You think it doesn't apply to you?
Well hold on, hear me out!
"If you were unwanted, unliked, rejected, hated and/or despised for a lengthy portion of your childhood, trauma may be deeply engrained in your mind, soul and body" (Pete Walker).
Hmmm.....not so far fetched now?
Many autistic children who weren't recognised or diagnosed as autistic in their formative years have felt like this.
Feelings of being different, being misunderstood, unable to communicate their emotions and desires in a way their friends and care givers understood, and therefore feeling unacknowledged and rejected.
Simple, everyday things that neurotypical people take in their stride - sounds, noise, light, temperature, textures, touch, movement, smells - can all assault an autistic person's senses. School, the outside world becomes a battleground or warzone that has to be negotiated daily.
No wonder that, in my opinion, many autistic adults develop c-PTSD.
What are the symptoms of c-PTSD?
Notice how similar many of these symptoms are to common autistic behaviour traits.
There is also a significant overlap with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) symptoms. A lot of autistic women are diagnosed with BPD before their autism diagnosis. BPD can also arise as an aftermath from childhood trauma
Learning how to heal trauma to reduce the impact of c-PTSD and/or BPD symptoms will help to make living with the quirks of your autism more manageable.
Understanding your unique triggers, putting them into context and being able to rationalise what's happening to you is powerful. Even liberating!
Acknowledging that trauma has happened to you is the first and hardest step. But you're a survivor. You're reading this, right?
So go on, take another look at the list of symptoms. How many do you recognise in yourself or maybe in someone you know?
BINGO!!!!
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