Symptoms and Progression of Complex PTSD
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About this ebook
Complex PTSD takes a progressive pathology, with symptoms worsening over successive traumatic experiences or during periods of elevated stress. Complex PTSD has its foundation in childhood trauma, impacting our development and undermining our mental and physical health for a lifetime.
We tend to ignore the lifelong effects of trauma, with the misconception that children are inherently resilient. Those of us who experienced trauma in childhood know the truth of it. We are changed and shaped by those traumas and the response of others in supporting us through them.
As adults, we are not separate from who we were or what we experienced as children. We remember it, if we are battling Complex PTSD, we are reliving it.
Kimberly Callis
When Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder forced me to leave a 25 year career in management consulting, I turned my focus to writing. My primary interest is in post traumatic stress disorder as it relates to developmental trauma and childhood sexual abuse. I have spent much of the last five years researching this topic from numerous perspectives. I hope to share my insight and experiences to help others in their recovery process.
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Reviews for Symptoms and Progression of Complex PTSD
7 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An open, honest, and relatable account of the author's C-PTSD recovery. Highly recommend!
Book preview
Symptoms and Progression of Complex PTSD - Kimberly Callis
Stoning Demons
An Informed Patient’s Perspective on Complex PTSD
Book 2, Symptoms and Progression of Complex PTSD
*****
By Kimberly Callis
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Copyright © 2014 Kimberly Callis
ISBN 978 1 310 63 7704
*****
This eBook is licensed for your personal use only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Complex PTSD Symptoms
Trauma in Adulthood Can Trigger PTSD Symptoms
Intrusion
Avoidance & Numbing
Impairment of Functioning
Changes in Arousal and Reactivity
Anxiety
Depression
Recurrent Trauma and Extreme Stress Can Trigger DES
Changes in Emotional Regulation
Cognitive Changes
Changes in Self-Perception
Changes in Relationships
Distorted View of Self and Others
Reckless or Destructive Actions
Alternation in Systems of Meaning
Progression of CPTSD
Primary Developmental Traumas
Secondary Traumas And Chronic Stress
Onset and Progression
Early Psychological Symptoms
Triggers and Environmental Clues
Crisis and Onset
Accepting the Diagnosis
Regression and Positive Inclination
Recovery, Remission and Relapse
How I Came to Be Here
References
About The Stoning Demon Series
This work is focused on Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) as it relates to developmental trauma, with an emphasis on childhood sexual abuse by a parent and its lifelong impacts on the health and psychology of the victim. I use my experience as an informed CPTSD patient to address the many therapies and treatments available, especially marijuana as a conscientiousy-managed treatment.
In this series, I will share some of the core research I have discovered on CPTSD, developmental trauma and marijuana-supported therapy. I have provided references to materials that I have found helpful in better understanding my own condition.
The material also covers the related physical health impacts that developmental trauma and early life PTSD can have. I share my history, which involves chronic disease and disability, all likely stemming from childhood abuse and neglect. There are ample resources to support this conclusion, which I also share.
Throughout the series, I openly discuss my use of marijuana as self-medication and support for my recovery process and maintenance. I have made it my personal ambition to address this topic openly, clearly, without shame or judgment, in ways that will open the doors for better understanding and healing.
This work emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to recovery and looks at the effects of stress, nutrition and toxins. Once I made the connection between wellness and mental health, I started to find the stability I needed to address the psychological and developmental effects of my condition.
I find it encouraging that more information is becoming available and that more people are finding understanding, help, and hope. The challenge is that not all of this information is presented in clear, unbiased, readable terms and there are very few resources that offer a holistic view.
Learning about CPTSD was important for me. Writing this book has helped me to pull together a clearer picture of my condition and to solidify my recovery. I hope this material will help others in their healing process.
Let me emphasize that I am not a medical doctor or psychology professional. I am a survivor, an informed patient. My perspective come from personal experience, personal research and personal analysis. I do not claim any academic expertise, nor do I intend this book to serve as professional advice. I do hope that the reader will find inspiration for their own healing process and references that are useful.
*****
This e-book is dedicated to those remarkable, resilient people who endured persistent abuse and neglect in childhood and are now seeking understanding and acceptance. No matter where you are in your healing process… please know that recovery is possible.
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
Buddha's enlightenment of self
*****
Acknowledgements
I am extremely grateful to my family and friends, those wonderful people who have helped me through the years it took to find a stable recovery.
I want to give my deepest love and gratitude to my sons, my mother, my sister and their lovely families. Your patient encouragement and understanding, especially in my most difficult moments has made this healing possible. I am most grateful for all the talks at my mother’s kitchen table. We’ve come to a great place together.
A special thank you to my almost-family – my uncle, aunt and almost-siblings – for answering all my questions and helping me piece together parts of my history that were missing… or misunderstood. You helped me find a sense of belonging and welcome that I had missed for so very long.
And to my dearest friends… thank you for helping me to see the ‘me’ that was still in there, even when my illness changed almost everything. Your faith in me kept me going when I had none left in myself.
*****
Complex PTSD Symptoms
PTSD is a whole-body tragedy, an integral human event of enormous proportions with massive repercussions.
Susan Pease Banitt
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a