Understanding Complex post traumatic stress disorder: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is an anxiety disorder closely related to PTSD which occurs due to repeated trauma over months or years, rather than a single event such as in PTSD. Any type of long term trauma may cause C-PTSD, with increased frequency of cases in people who suffered abuse from their caregivers. Other examples may include being a war prisoner, living in a war area, and childhood neglect.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Complex PTSD
- Cptsd
- C-PTSD

Signs & symptoms

Symptoms should last at least a month, and may include:
- Recurrent flashbacks – the patients may feel as if they are re-experiencing the traumatic event.
- Persistent Nightmares or thoughts about the traumatic events.
- Feeling of being on edge or angry.
- Irritability or distress.
- Sleep disturbance.
- Avoidance of situations that may trigger the trauma.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Negative thoughts, feelings of guilt, or low self-esteem.
- Difficulty remembering parts of the event.
-Loss of beliefs and religion.
-Difficulty in relationships.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is made via a psychiatric assessment, conducted by a psychiatrist – a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry. This assessment includes questioning, physical exams, cognitive exams, and other tests that might exclude other diseases or conditions.

Treatment

Treatment for PTSD includes psychotherapy and medication. The preferred psychotherapy method is cognitive-behavioural therapy. Another method from treating CPTSD is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Medical treatment includes antidepressant medications and sedative medications to aid sleeping.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

Learn more about our editorial process for content accuracy.

Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital