Doubting my CPTSD Diagnosis

C-PTSD stands for Complex-PTSD. I have Chronic Complex-PTSD. The “Complex” part comes from my many multiple experiences of separate incidents of trauma and abuse throughout my life. The “Chronic” part is because my C-PTSD is longterm/lifelong, since the complexity of so many layers of unaddressed & unresolved trauma & abuse one after another have caused a chronic condition that is persistent & long-lasting. Your diagnosis of Complex-PTSD stems from the fact that you have (listed) several different traumatic incidents that you have experienced over time, &, while any one of your experiences could cause PTSD in a person, the cumulative effect of having multiple traumatic experiences causing PTSD is C-PTSD. = It is a stress-related mental health disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas; commonly prolonged or repetitive exposures to a series of traumatic events, within which individuals perceive little or no chance to escape. Also, C-PTSD is a category of post-traumatic stress disorder with three additional clusters of significant distinct symptoms: emotional dysregulations, negative self-beliefs, and interpersonal difficulties. Do not let anyone tell you that there is somehow an imaginary threshold of how much or how bad one’s trauma must be to qualify as “enough” for this diagnosis. We are all different & have had different lived experiences in life, and, therefore, we all experience things in ways personal & particular to us. Being deeply negatively impacted by trauma & abuse does not make you “weak.” As a matter of fact, it takes a very strong person to live through such negative experiences and circumstances. It takes an even stronger person to admit, talk about, & work on dealing with the aftermath. So, please, consider yourself to be one of the strong ones who survived to address your many issues. And, don’t doubt yourself. While I don’t always implicitly trust the opinion of any professional because they only know what they are taught, and, as a fallible human, they can, indeed, be wrong about things, I do trust that the professional you spoke with came to the correct conclusion with your diagnosis because you definitely fit the bill & qualify with your experiences and their resulting symptoms. The doubt you are feeling now is actually quite typical of C-PTSD, as it just another negative self-belief attempting to invalidate you & your experiences. The professional who gave you this diagnosis undoubtedly recognized that these incidents caused negative impacts & correlating symptoms that have disrupted your life significantly enough to warrant a diagnosis, & you should trust that, as your dismissal would only serve to prolong your suffering & stifle your truth. Trust yourself, and try to treat yourself the way you wish someone had treated that wounded child, with love, patience, compassion & kindness. You deserve to heal & grow from all of this, & I hope you will afford yourself the grace & space to do so by allowing yourself to have the forgiveness, trust, & honesty you need. :)