June is PTSD Awareness month!
Walk.Talk.Breathe.
Walk.Talk.Breathe.

June is PTSD Awareness month!

If you can imagine PTSD as a burn injury from a single fire, then C-PTSD is more like ongoing smoke inhalation from living in a burning house

If symptoms of trauma are something you or someone close to you are experiencing in your life this article may be useful for you… 

As part of my therapist’s toolkit, I am a trained REWIND practitioner.  

REWIND is a single session, effective, non-disclosure treatment for the symptoms of PTSD and Complex PTSD. Treatment can be as simple as a single session – combined with talk therapy offers an attuned response to what can be very difficult symptoms. 

Have you ever experienced listening to someone describing a childhood memory with meaning and joy – and been left with a sense of emptiness – acknowledging your own inability to access this type of memories? 

Do you have a time in your life history which clearly feels like a before and after point, which features when you say things like; “I can’t really remember much from before that time/event”? 

Have you ever been discussing a shared event from the past with family or friends, only to be startled by differences or a void where the shared memory should be for you? 

Is your memory more likely to focus on the less joyous and more difficult parts of memories both short and long term? 

Are you aware that your capacity to feel joy and fulfilment has changed and that it is more difficult than previously, or indeed absent? 

 

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you may be experiencing symptoms of unresolved trauma. 

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) FACTS 

Typically results from a single traumatic event and from short-term exposure to danger and threat. These events could be; 

  • Combat or war exposure 
  • Sexual assault or abuse 
  • Physical assault or domestic violence 
  • Serious accidents (car crashes, industrial injuries) 
  • Natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, fires) 
  • Terrorist attacks or mass violence 
  • Sudden loss of a loved one 
  • Being threatened with a weapon or death 

 

Core symptoms may include; 

  • Intrusive memories or flashbacks 
  • Avoidance of reminders of the trauma 
  • Hyperarousal (e.g., being jumpy, on edge, or irritable) 
  • Negative mood changes, like guilt, numbness, or detachment

 

C-PTSD (Complex PTSD) FACTS 

Typically results from Chronic, repeated or long-term trauma (especially during childhood) and relational trauma (e.g., physical or emotional abuse, physical or emotional neglect, captivity or coercive control.) 

These tend to be chronic, relational, or socially invisible: 

  • Childhood emotional neglect 
  • Bullying or prolonged social humiliation 
  • Medical trauma (especially repeated, invasive procedures or diagnoses as a child) 
  • Witnessing violence (without being directly harmed) 
  • Growing up with a caregiver who is emotionally unavailable, mentally ill, or addicted 
  • Ongoing discrimination, racism, or microaggressions 
  • Living in a high-stress, unpredictable environment (e.g., poverty or housing instability) 
  • Spiritual or religious trauma (e.g., from authoritarian or abusive religious systems) 
  • Being a caregiver for someone with a chronic illness or disability 
  • Attachment trauma (repeated disruptions in early bonding with caregivers) 

 

These subtle causes often contribute to Complex PTSD, which is marked more by emotional dysregulation, negative self-image, and relationship difficulties than by flashbacks alone.  

PTSD symptoms may be present, additionally; 

  • Emotional dysregulation (e.g., intense emotions, difficulty calming down) 
  • Negative self-concept (feeling worthless, broken, or ashamed) 
  • Interpersonal difficulties (trouble trusting, frequent conflict, isolation) 
  • Dissociation or emotional numbing may be more prominent 
  • Long-lasting and pervasive impact on personality and life functioning

 

This type of trauma may have been caused by something that you hold within yourself inside a narrative of  ‘just the way it was’, and can sound like, ‘nothing that bad really happened to me!’ and therefore left unexplored and unacknowledged. 

Symptoms may be deeply ingrained to the extent they may feel like character traits more than trauma responses and are not as easily picked up by those around us. 

If you can imagine PTSD as a burn injury from a single fire,

then C-PTSD is more like ongoing smoke inhalation from living in a burning house—more subtle, but often more pervasive and harder to heal from, particularly if the burning house is still standing. 

If you would like to find out more about therapy to support Trauma symptoms please get in touch, June is a perfect time for a fresh start… 

 

 

 

Email for more info or to arrange a chat:  info@walktakbreathe.com

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