The Importance of a Treatment Plan
Upon seeing a mental health specialist, we are often unclear about what brought us there, our purpose for seeing them, and our goals for the future. One method mental health professionals use to help both you and they guide your healing journey is to form a treatment plan. But...
Experiencing Co-Occurring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
In previous posts in this series, we have discussed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as though it occurs alone. Unfortunately, thinking that PTSD acts alone would be incorrect. Many other diagnoses that a person with PTSD can have include complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). This piece will explore what happens...
Positive Childhood Experiences Positive Childhood Experiences, Resiliency, and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Note: Complex stress disorder is common in people who have dissociative identity disorder, so this article is relevant. One might think of negative childhood experiences as intimately linked with complex trauma and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), and you would be correct. CPTSD is caused by a series or...
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
***Trigger Warning: this article will address childhood sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all audiences.*** As our readers know by now, CPTSD Foundation is not afraid to tackle tough subjects that have for too long been considered taboo. This month’s articles will be about childhood sexual abuse...
Dissociative Amnesia and Its Consequences In the Lives of Survivors
Everybody forgets that is a fact of life. You might forget where you placed your car keys or where you last saw the dog’s leash; that is ordinary forgetting. Dissociative amnesia is different. It is a condition that is trauma-based and can disrupt a person’s life. This article shall...
The Neurotransmitters of Seasonal Affective Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The brain is a very complicated organ that rules over our lives engendering how we move, think, and feel. The way our brain cells (neurons) communicate with one another is by the use of chemicals known as neurotransmitters which they pass from one to the other. We have briefly...
Seasonal Affective Disorder, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Relational Trauma
I wrote this article for another site, CPTSD Foundation, that focuses primarily on CPTSD, but I thought it appropriate to share it here on my site as well. We who have dissociative identity disorder often also suffer from seasonal affective disorder as a result of the complex relational trauma...
Narcissistic abuse and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Narcissistic parents cause enormous harm to their children. When grown, these victims of narcissistic abuse face seemingly insurmountable problems, including the formation of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). This article shall examine narcissistic abuse, narcissistic personality disorder, and their effect on the children of narcissism. Narcissistic Personality Disorder Narcissistic...
Flashbacks, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the Brain
Author’s Note: Most people who live with DID also have complex post-traumatic stress disorder so this article is pertinent to all my readers. Everyone experiences flashbacks. Most of the time flashbacks are benign when they experience a trigger, such as the smell of fresh baked bread and it...
Polyvagal Theory and Healing from Childhood Trauma
Those who live with the after-effects of severe childhood trauma understand well how it feels to be continually on the lookout for danger. Some experience this as hypervigilance feeling unsafe no matter who they are with or where they are in life. Polyvagal theory does a wonderful job of...