LIving for sustained periods of time in circumstances that are stressful, overwhelming, intolerable, etc…..(such as childhood) forces a person to develop different ways to cope that may not be the most rational or sustainable. Humans do what they can with what they haveto …especially whe they are overwhelmed and desperate. The fight or flight response kicks in. Many maladaptive coping strategies were born long ago…such as compulsive and addictive behaviors or numbing behaviors such as disaccosication.
Part of recovering from CPTSD involves identifying the current triggers that currently get activated…that oriignated from a different time when there were few, or no other options.
Once the trigger has been identified that leads to the unhelpful coping strategy….the possibility for another solution becomes available. Understanding when you are reacting to a trigger related to something from the past, at a time when you had no control opens a window to change. The trigger is related to a past experience and not the current event. It’s disorienting when you get overwhelmed for seemingly unclear reasons.
For example….if someone was in a situation where they were exposed to loud noise in an ongoing and painful way (yelling, war like enviornment) then certain loud noise could trigger an overwhelming reaction…even when the noise is currently unrelated to anything currently negative. The noise could now be celebration or a noisy child..just being a kid.
The act of having a response plan alone changes the pattern. Awareness of the trigger, loud noise, overwhelming emotion…unhealthy numbing or high emotional reactions are signs that another option needs to be introduced. Giving the survivor what they were deprieved of. The beauty of working toward options is that it does not need to be perfect…just something to move toward and work toward.
It’s the lack of options and the history of being forced to stay in overwhelming conditions that causes current post traumatic stress symptoms. Just the act of taking some action to move forward, in real time, and with current triggering situations …is healing.
In the example of noise, working to have a personal response plan is often enough to help break the oppressive cycle of trigger, overwhelming emotion, maladaptive coping skill…..
Perhaps it can become loud noise, stressful reaction, desire to fight or flight, Awareness….and the possibility of practicing another behavior. Examples of this could be stepping away from the noise, ear phones, remembering it’s just a noise and not the same as the original traumatic noise.
The problem is the solution. What are the CPTSD triggers? What is the current unhelpful response? What’s another viable solution to experiment with? Just the act of experimenting with alternative ways of responding begins to change the cycle. It’s the chance and choice to respond in a better way (that was previously unavailable) where freedom from post traumatic stress is waiting.
Part of recovering from CPTSD involves identifying the current triggers that currently get activated…that oriignated from a different time when there were few, or no other options.
Once the trigger has been identified that leads to the unhelpful coping strategy….the possibility for another solution becomes available. Understanding when you are reacting to a trigger related to something from the past, at a time when you had no control opens a window to change. The trigger is related to a past experience and not the current event. It’s disorienting when you get overwhelmed for seemingly unclear reasons.
For example….if someone was in a situation where they were exposed to loud noise in an ongoing and painful way (yelling, war like enviornment) then certain loud noise could trigger an overwhelming reaction…even when the noise is currently unrelated to anything currently negative. The noise could now be celebration or a noisy child..just being a kid.
The act of having a response plan alone changes the pattern. Awareness of the trigger, loud noise, overwhelming emotion…unhealthy numbing or high emotional reactions are signs that another option needs to be introduced. Giving the survivor what they were deprieved of. The beauty of working toward options is that it does not need to be perfect…just something to move toward and work toward.
It’s the lack of options and the history of being forced to stay in overwhelming conditions that causes current post traumatic stress symptoms. Just the act of taking some action to move forward, in real time, and with current triggering situations …is healing.
In the example of noise, working to have a personal response plan is often enough to help break the oppressive cycle of trigger, overwhelming emotion, maladaptive coping skill…..
Perhaps it can become loud noise, stressful reaction, desire to fight or flight, Awareness….and the possibility of practicing another behavior. Examples of this could be stepping away from the noise, ear phones, remembering it’s just a noise and not the same as the original traumatic noise.
The problem is the solution. What are the CPTSD triggers? What is the current unhelpful response? What’s another viable solution to experiment with? Just the act of experimenting with alternative ways of responding begins to change the cycle. It’s the chance and choice to respond in a better way (that was previously unavailable) where freedom from post traumatic stress is waiting.