Complex PTSD

Sim said:

validated

Agreed: it can be helpful talking about c-trauma in a safe space and being validated. 

Ideally, effectively the clinician would help introduce you to yourself (Just quite what did you notice of it all?  How might that benefit from being "re-filed" for and by yourself now?  What might the circumstances inform you about the journey perhaps did not realise; potentially included achievements too?).  Which strategies might it be worth exercising to help you now?

...So that you can better understand and explore, with a safety net, what the experiences have / still mean to you (not a comparison / competition with what or how anyone else thinks about / responds to the similar experiences - nothing to do with what others think you "ought to ... - whatever - you might have worried is expected of you").

Helping you to find your own path through - well, a guided homework of achievable tasks / having a reflect upon things within a confidential framework.

Reading this post about complex PTSD really struck a chord with me.  Sometimes it feels like you're wading through emotional quicksand, and traditional therapies can leave you stuck on the edges.

I find antidepressants quite good. Luckily I don’t feel like a zombie on them though. It may be that I am so used to them that I wouldn’t know if I felt like a zombie anyway because I’ve been in them that long that this is how I’m used to feeling. I heard you can get Psychodynamic Psychotherapy through the nhs but I think you need to have tried CBT and medication before you can try Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. I think it would need to be a specialist like a psychiatrist that prescribed it as well not a GP. Psychodynamic psychotherapy goes into all your childhood and identifies the cause of your issues etc. sounds good never tried it to be fair. But I get what you mean CBT is a bit plain in my opinion. It’s just about managing symptoms with stuff like meditation etc it doesn’t really get to the root cause like you would imagine therapy should.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who masks in this way, I do exactly the same thing. I can see why it's unhelpful but unmasking and being honest when it might upset someone is really difficult. I think that's a really good idea telling your therapist about it, thank you for mentioning it, I will do that too.

I'm also in burnout (possibly from work but most likely from trying to deal with trauma counselling). Your replies read very well and you're definitely not rambling.

I haven't tried DBT before but assumed it was similar to CBT so I've avoided it because I hated CBT! I find I get really frustrated when anyone tries to challenge my thoughts or emotions because I feel like my thoughts and feelings are invalid and not understood. I also think that part of me is resistant to change because I don't know any different to how I am now and, in a way, I'd rather stick with what I'm familiar with or I might fall apart! Probably my own stubbornness holding me back to be honest.

Thanks for the information, it's really helpful and I hope things are a lot better for you now

Yes, the antidepressants made me feel like a zombie too, not a pleasant experience. The worst times for me are in the middle of the night, it doesn't matter how much I try to tell myself that I'm safe, my body reacts as though I'm not. I've has a read through the PTSD UK website, thank you, it's very helpful. I try to keep as busy as possible which definitely helps but I also get really tired!

I would add that one thing that held me back a lot in trauma healing was that my autism made it impossible to understand or communicate what I was feeling, but DBT taught me how to recognise and label my emotions which helped me a lot in trauma therapy. Also I'm a woman and had a massive problem with masking in therapy and not being truthful, pretending I am getting better to make therapists happy. So with my last therapist (a trauma therapist) I warned her of this and asked her to help me to be more open. I'm so used to masking it's really hard for me to unmask in front of strangers but being myself was so key in therapy being effective for me so I would keep that in mind if you're anything like me

Hi there, I also have autism and complex PTSD. It's a really difficult experience having both, I'm sorry you're going through this. I personally found Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) really helpful for managing overwhelming emotions and unhealthy thought patterns. I had it through the NHS and it was very intense and hard work I will say but definitely worth it. I tried EMDR but I don't think it really worked for me - as my therapist said at the time she didn't think my brain was properly letting me access and engage with my memories so I couldn't process them. For me the best part of trauma therapy was finally talking about things in a safe place and being validated. I have tried different antidepressants and some were awful and one was very helpful for my anxiety but I have stopped because of the side effects. I would recommend speaking to your doctor and discussing the option of DBT and then trauma therapy/EMDR. Doing DBT first was good for me because it helped me to know how to manage difficult emotions that came up in trauma therapy. It's a shame there are such long waiting lists but these therapies were what worked best for me personally. Sorry if this is a bit rambly, hope it makes sense, I'm currently in a burn out from work stress so not great at writing but I hope this can help somehow. Really wishing you well, I know how hard it is. 

Good morning,

I've got ptsd due to past trauma.

My GP refused me for EMDR. pstd UK is a good website for information.

Was on antidepressants which made me like a zombie. Surgery is useless as didn't get any follow-up. Found out that the GP called it a day. Had to withdrawal on my own without going cold turkey. When have a pstd attack keep on saying I'm safe and nobody going to hurt me. I try to do something.