6 ways to recover from Complex Trauma or Complex PTSD

Posted on by

By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Words about PTSD

PTSD.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

You can recover from Complex Trauma or Complex PTSD.

Complex Trauma or Complex PTSD is the result of repeated injuries, each of which creates additional trauma. Complex Trauma frequently arises in children who are abused or neglected over long periods of time or survivors of sexual assaults who are re-assaulted.

Being injured once is bad enough but repeated traumatization can result in problems far in excess of those caused by a single trauma. People who were traumatized in childhood and then retraumatize in later life are likely to develop severe and debilitating symptoms. Some researchers have suggested the name of Complex Trauma or Complex PTSD for this condition.

It appears that many people can experience severe trauma, recover, and not develop PTSD. Some of the symptoms of PTSD are normal reactions to experiencing trauma – in the short run. If the reaction is excessive, interferes with a job, friendships or relationships then it first becomes Acute Stress Disorder when the symptoms continue for long periods of time and seriously interfere with functioning the name and diagnosis is changed to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Complex Trauma adds trauma upon trauma and results in long-term suffering.

Some treatments make the symptoms of Complex Trauma worse and some things are effective in treatment. Here are the basic rules for recovering from Complex Trauma. I based this on the research of Conner & Higgins and their description of the work of Chu, with my own usually twists.

1. CAUTION – do not start digging until you know what is buried out there, avoid black holes.

The first reaction of someone trying to recover from complex trauma and the approach of many counselors is to go searching for the buried details. People ask “Why can’t I remember things?” Counselors are tempted to try to recover those lost memories. This can result in more trauma and pain and runs the risk of digging up stuff that wasn’t really buried in your yard but the yards of neighbors or even fictional characters.

Some serious damage has been done by forcing people to remember things way before they were ready and by hunting for things that you are not sure happened. Ask a kid often enough about sexual abuse and they will begin to “remember” things that “may have happened” or they “think” happened. These contaminated memories have resulted in a lot of extra pain.

There are a number of other steps that need to be completed before you go digging into the past for answers. The brain tries to protect us by hiding details from us that might keep us from functioning well enough to survive. Trust the process.

2. Have a supportive therapist or counselor as well as a support system in place.

You can’t make this journey of healing alone and the more capable the companions you have on the journey the better. Professionals are important because there may be things you need to tell them that you won’t feel safe telling others. Peers are also helpful for similar reasons.

Group counseling can be especially effective when and if you are ready to talk in front of others.

3. Ensure your personal safety

If you are in a dangerous situation healing is not likely until you deal with the current emergency. Make a safety plan and execute it. You need to feel safe and have reliable food clothing and shelter before you think about other aspects of recovery. But don’t put off recovery waiting for the day you will miraculously feel safe. Get started on the safety part first. Just taking steps to move to a safe place can be empowering.

Challenges to your safety don’t only come from outside. You may be a big part of the danger. Avoid, control, or work on urges and cravings. Confront any urges to commit suicide and seek help immediately if you have thoughts of suicide. Recognize and deal with non-suicidal self-injury, substance abuse, eating disorders, and the urge to try out risky behaviors. Don’t put yourself at risk to be victimized anymore.

4. Get your daily routines and rituals in place.

Most people who experience a crisis lose that ability to get up, eat, care for themselves, and then move about their day. The sooner you re-establish your daily routine the better.

When children are involved the recommendation is the sooner you can resume family rituals the better. Get back to your spiritual home. Remember to have some sort of ritual in your life; birthdays, Christmas, or any other familiar activity makes everyone feel better.

Returning to a job or other activity can be a great way to begin your recovery. If you can’t work at a paid job consider volunteering. Having a reason to get up and out of the house can jump-start your recovery.

A regular and consistent amount of sleep is important. So is some form of exercise. Be as consistent as possible with mealtimes and bedtimes. Include time for relaxation and positive activities.

5. Learn as much as you can about stress, acute stress, and the more difficult forms of PTSD and Chronic Stress. Learn to manage your primary symptoms.

Knowledge is power. When you know you are not “crazy” or “losing your mind” but that the things you are experiencing are common responses to what you have been through, then it is easier to look for the things others have found useful in recovering from their chronic stress.

Accept what you feel. Try to learn to feel what you are feeling rather than run from the uncomfortable feelings. The feelings will come and go. Learn that you don’t have to run from feelings, but you do need to move away from real danger.

6. Begin work on your long-term issues, the chronic stress symptoms, the problems you had before the stressor, and lastly the actual event.

Often people who develop PTSD or a chronic stress disorder discover they had other issues before the stress that put them at risk for PTSD.

Begin to talk about you. What does the experience mean to you? Who are you aside from the trauma? What does the trauma say about the person or thing that hurt you? What if any sense can you make of this?

The discussion of what actually happened should occur when you are ready to tackle this information.

7. Have patience with yourself and the persistence to work through your problems.

Recovery does not happen all at once. There may be sudden leaps forward or slips back but a continued effort will get you to recovery.

Use tools like positive affirmations. You are a worthwhile person no matter what has happened to you. Give yourself credit for the things you accomplish.

You can recover from Complex Trauma or Complex PTSD.

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

Want the latest blog posts as they publish? Subscribe to this blog.

For videos, see: Counselorssoapbox YouTube Video Channel

41 thoughts on “6 ways to recover from Complex Trauma or Complex PTSD”

  1. Pingback: Most read blog posts of 2019. | counselorssoapbox

  2. Pingback: Most read mental health blog posts in 2018. | counselorssoapbox

  3. Pingback: Si vous rencontrez une personne traumatisée… – Survivre & s'épanouir

  5. Pingback: Counselorssoapbox.com most read articles. | counselorssoapbox

  6. Pingback: Loving and Supporting Adult Children of Alcoholics – Eat, Breathe, Live. Wellness.

  7. thank you for that,are there any recovery stories from complex ptsd ?? all i find on the internet is sad suicidal people who have had it for 20+ years and say it doesnt get better:(

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Yes there are, but it’s much harder to find those stories of recovery. Recovery means very different things to different people. People who recover reach a point where the trauma as part of their past rather than the present. All of life’s events good or bad are never forgotten. But the things you’ve been through make you who you are. Part of the process of recovery for many people is telling their story. The important part is to come to terms with that story and then leave it in the past and start creating a better present. Often people who do recover stop telling the story of the trauma and start talking about all the good things in the present. Best wishes on your recovery.

      Like

      Reply ↓

      • Dear Mr. Miller:

        There are cases where people who have faced horrific, life threatening traumatic events have “Recovered.” We don’t call it recovery, we call it peace: Peace of the Intellect, Peace of the Heart, and a body at rest. We are hidden in the shadows because we do not want attention to be drawn to ourselves. For my 60th birthday present, I met one of my kind. She has lived with 1/4 of a brain for most of her life. She is one of the most happiest individuals on this Earth.

        Having just recovered from a 56 year battle with an event that occurred when I was 4, we shared our stories. Our conclusion was this: We are the keepers of something of tremendous value THAT CAN NOT BE DESTROYED – Diamond Hearts.

        Please feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in hearing how I pulled this off all alone.

        Like

      • I would be happy to discuss how I have dealt with Complex PTSD but I lack any trust in the internet. I would prefer to meet face-to-face. If this is acceptable to you, please let me know.

        Like

      • Thank you for your well wishes. I will leave you with a small gift of insight. The key to recovering lies in who the victims blame. Back to the shadows…

        Like

  8. Exactly what I needed to hear. Searching for help. Starting to understand how badly emotional and psychologically abused I was in my 30 year marriage. He isolated me from long time friends and my family and created fear and paranoia episodes. The hardest part is personal relationships and not being to build them because I am so paranoid.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  10. I am a survivor of incest, sex trafficing,gang rape,date rape,torture,attempted murder,domestic violence,murder of 8month old neice suicide of mother,physical abuse by my father that forced me to miss much school mother putting me in boiling water and paint thinner as child,forced to eat own vomit tragic death in front of me of friend killing of my pets by husbands and the list goes on! I have only recently acknowledged that perhaps I have ptsd and complex trauma any info or suggestions for treatment is much appreciated I neef help healing this is only a small snippet of what I’ve experienced!

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks for commenting Karen. I think any one of the things you mentioned could cause PTSD. You’ve certainly been through a lot. I commend you for your interest in working on these issues. The first thing I would suggest is to talk to several therapists and find one that seems like a good fit for you. You may need to spend a number of sessions on telling your story. Sometimes it really helps just to have someone hear and validate all you have been through. At that point, you can begin to work on specific issues. Sometimes trauma’s get locked in our nervous system and it can really help to work with the therapist to process those traumas. There may be some things that you’ve experienced that are so painful that you may not want to describe the details to the therapist. It might be helpful to look for a therapist who has been trained in EMDR. This technique is very effective in working with trauma. It’s one of the few techniques that does not require you to talk about all the details. I hope you find the help that you need.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  12. Pingback: Top Mental Health Blog Posts – counselorssoapbox.com 2015 | counselorssoapbox

  14. Pingback: Most read mental health blog posts 2015. | counselorssoapbox

  15. Pingback: Top 10 Mental Health Blog posts of 2013 | counselorssoapbox

  16. Pingback: Top counselorssoapbox.com posts for Sept 2013 | counselorssoapbox

  17. Pingback: counselorssoapbox.com posts you read the most | counselorssoapbox

  18. Pingback: counselorssoapbox.com most read posts – March 2013 | counselorssoapbox

  19. im in sydney australia and struggling , with continuous trauma. when someone steps on my boundaries i get hysterical, im isolating n cant deal with anyone 😦

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks for the comment. In a city the size of Sidney there has to be help available. The difficult part is reaching out for that help. If by continuous trauma you mean you are still in a trauma creating situation then you need to find a way to stop the trauma. Someone who has no food or shelter or is being victimized needs to get those basic needs met before they can work on emotional problems. If you are in a violent situation then look for a program that can help get you out of that situation. Per or self-help groups can also be helpful but as you have found you need to enforce your boundaries. While peers care a lot and can empathize they all have their problems also. Consider professional treatment. Untreated this sort of thing continues to rob you of the life you should have. Best wishes.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  20. Pingback: February 2013 happenings on counselorssoapbox.com- Top posts | counselorssoapbox

  21. Pingback: Mental Health, Self-improvement & Happy life –Counselorssoapbox.com January 2013 Best of Blog | counselorssoapbox

  23. Reblogged this on Stoning Demons and commented:
    A hopeful article.

    My experience in addressing my own Complex PTSD has been that these six (seven, actually) aspects of recovery are relevant to the whole of the process. I have had to go back through each of these over and over, correcting and reframing as I uncover new complications, new memories or previously unaddressed triggers.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  24. Impossible to find a psychologist in Santa Fe, N.M. I am desperate to rid myself of C-PTSD. I really need to find a HIGHLY intelligent psychologist. I have tried five in six months and discovered each of them lacking vital knowledge. I’m not sure what to do anymore.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • It is clear from your comment you are reaching out for help and not finding what you need. I hope you find someone who can help you. Three suggestions that might help.
      1. Check with the local college or University, especially if they have a department that teaches Counseling or Therapy, there may be a faculty member who can help or someone who knows a specialist in C-PTSD.
      2. Look for a Licensed Counselor or Therapist rather than a psychologist. Psychologists are great for telling you if you are disabled and can never work again, they do lots of testing but many of them don’t do much ongoing therapy.
      3. Look for a Counselor who “gets you” emotionally rather than one who is highly intelligence. All the smarts in the word won’t help if there is no connection.
      Hope you find someone who can help. Don’t stop looking.

      Like

      Reply ↓

      • Also, you may find someone not in your area who is willing to use skype or phone

        Like

      • That sounds like a possibility. Distance counseling is in its infancy so it is hard to tell how this may work out. When possible it is recommended that you see the therapist in person the first time or that you do it via video so you can both see each others expressions. Make sure that the person you are talking with is licensed in your state and check on their credentials. If anyone out there has done distance counseling I would love to know about your experiences.

        Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.