What are the Complex PTSD Symptoms (Complex PTSD Quiz)

Are you wondering if you have Complex PTSD symptoms?

Maybe you think you have Complex PTSD but you’re afraid people are gonna think you’re just making it up?

“It’s all in your head.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“You’re just making excuses.”

But if you’ve spent most of your life not feeling normal, chances are you do have Complex PTSD.

You’ve just been shamed too much to at least get a diagnosis.

I know therapy can be expensive so I have made a list of the Complex PTSD symptoms.

At the end of this article, you will know the answer.

Then, you can choose what you want to do with that information.

My goal is to give you some clarity, even just a little bit.

Let’s dive in!

Complex PTSD Symptoms

When I discovered I have CPTSD, that’s when everything started to become clear.

If only I knew sooner, I would’ve gotten the help I needed sooner as well.

So don’t make the same mistake I did.

This is the article I wish I’d seen earlier so I wouldn’t have been clueless for so long.

What are the complex PTSD symptoms?

There are 17 complex PTSD symptoms but the most prominent ones are not feeling normal, always being anxious, and being fearful. Living with complex PTSD symptoms is not truly living.

Who am I to talk about this

I am not a professional in this topic. So who am I to talk about this?

Everything you’ll find in this article is from my own experience, knowledge from the psychologist who diagnosed me, and my current EMDR therapist.

This is not an official Complex PTSD diagnostic criteria nor is this the Complex PTSD dsm-5 criteria.

These Complex PTSD symptoms are stuff that I have struggled with for years that only started to make sense when I started therapy.

It felt so liberating to finally put a name to my experiences and know that help is available.

I was able to release shame and gain self-compassion when I realized that there are reasons why I did the things I did, and acted the way I acted.

I realized that I can forgive myself and I don’t have to keep living this way because there are ways to heal.

CPTSD vs PTSD

There are many types of PTSD and CPTSD is just one of them. PTSD is the umbrella term for all the Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

According to the Brightquest Treatment Centers website, CPTSD symptoms are more severe than PTSD symptoms.

Both are anxiety disorders but PTSD is usually caused by a sudden, short-term traumatic event while Complex PTSD is caused by long term trauma or stress.

While people with PTSD are afraid of triggers to their symptoms, people with CPTSD have a distorted view of the world and reality.

This affects all aspects of their lives including their relationships with others and themselves.

Complex PTSD symptoms in adults

Most people actually start to develop complex PTSD symptoms when they become adults.

It’s called complex post-traumatic stress disorder because it’s when your body continues to be in survival mode after the traumatic event/s.

According to this study, PTSD usually begins within 3 months of the traumatic event and can emerge even later.

In the case of Complex PTSD from childhood trauma, we usually only get a chance to get out of the traumatic childhood homes when we can already provide for ourselves.

Complex PTSD triggers in relationships

As mentioned above, people with CPTSD have a distorted view of the world and reality that affects all aspects of their lives including their relationships with others.

Most people with CPTSD have a negative self-image and have difficulty trusting and knowing what they do or don’t deserve.

They also tend to have trouble self-regulating, making it hard for them to build and maintain healthy relationships.

What are the 17 Symptoms of Complex PTSD

Here are the 17 complex PTSD symptoms:

1: You don’t feel normal/you feel like you don’t belong

I spent most of my life feeling so different from the people around me.

It felt like I was holding a secret nobody else knew.

I could never just be present and enjoy the moment, like most of my friends.

I later realized this was because I didn’t grow up with normal circumstances.

Because of this, I couldn’t relate to my peers. There seemed like no one I could talk to about it.

I also kept the shame for myself when the truth is, the people who should’ve carried those shame were the ones who were treating me badly.

But my therapist said it’s impossible for us as children to comprehend that our caretakers are wrong so we tend to blame ourselves instead.

2: You have low self-esteem

You get intimidated by a lot of people.

You put them on a pedestal because you think they have something that you don’t/will never have.

Your brain likes to create meaning to experiences, even if you don’t do it consciously.

Subconsciously, you feel like you’re not worthy of the attention or friendship of these people.

“They deserve to be loved and respected, and I don’t.”

“Who do I think I am? I am trash.”

This negative self-talk and self-image were absorbed by us from childhood, usually from abusive adults/caretakers.

It could also be from a bully.

Sometimes, you won’t even notice them; they’re like white noise, playing in the background of your life.

3: You can’t relax/ are always anxious

There are two states that you are usually in. You either can’t relax, or you’re numb as hell.

In this item, it’s the former. You are always restless/on edge.

Feelings of anxiety or fear dominate you.

You may seem to always try to be chasing something or looking for thrills/temporary highs to cope with these feelings.

You can also feel impatient, like wanting things to happen instantly.

This is your nervous system trying to ease itself from the anxiety and fear.

It’s very tiring to always be in this state.

4: It’s hard to get out of bed/ simple things seem so hard to do

Are you feeling guilty or ashamed because you seem to be so lazy?

Do the easiest things like standing to get water for yourself seem like such a struggle?

This is the opposite of what we’ve just discussed above.

This is when you feel so paralyzed, you can barely get out of bed.

Getting up to prepare your food seems like solving the world’s hardest puzzle.

Going out to get groceries feels like climbing mount Everest.

My therapist defined this as avolition.

When I looked it up, it felt good to finally put a name to what I have been experiencing all those years.

I spent so much time shaming myself because I did not understand what I was going through.

5: You walk on eggshells/you are hypervigilant

You are hypervigilant, always on guard.

You are so sensitive to other people’s energies.

With every shift in tone, you ask yourself, “Did I do/say anything wrong?”

You feel like everything may be your fault. Someone probably always made you feel this way.

The truth is, not everything is because of you.

People have stuff going on in their lives too that we probably don’t know about.

But if you feel like you’re always adjusting for other people, it’s probably because you have CPTSD from having reactive parents.

Did you always have to read the room or other people’s moods?

Maybe it was important for your survival.

Maybe it determined whether or not it’s going to be a bad day in your household.

You may have had to be extra careful with your actions because you were punished even for things you didn’t mean or things that weren’t your fault.

6: You people-please

This is what your experience taught you: Your moods/feelings are not important.

“It doesn’t matter what you feel. This is how I feel!”

Sound familiar? It probably came out of your parent/caretaker’s mouth.

You had to go out of your way and jump through hoops to keep the peace or keep the people in your household happy.

When they’re happy, you can have peace and calm.

You were probably punished for having negative emotions, which are actually normal and a part of being human.

Nobody asked you whether or not you’re okay, whether you feel comfortable or not.

So you carried the subconscious belief that you don’t matter and that you have to try so hard to not get punished or rejected.

The truth is, you don’t have to try so hard to be liked and your emotions are not inconveniences.

7: You can’t seem to get your sh*t together/ You self sabotage

You want to fix your life but everytime you try, you end up right where you started.

You wonder why it’s so hard to work on your goals.

It’s like someone else is holding the steering wheel of your ship, sabotaging you so that you end up disappointing yourself over and over.

You wonder, “when am I ever gonna do the things I say I’ll do?”

Self-sabotage is one of the complex PTSD symptoms.

Chances are, you have limiting beliefs unconsciously steering the wheel.

“Trauma is an invisible force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world. It is the root of our deepest wounds.” -Gabor Mate

8: You are impulsive

Do you feel like you have almost an automatic response to things and you instantly regret them?

Having Complex PTSD can make you impulsive as hell.

It’s like there’s another person inside you making those decisions and you can’t control them.

You do before you think.

Maybe you impulse buy to your detriment?

Chances are, this part of you has been neglected in the past and now it’s trying to get what it wasn’t given.

Maybe you leave a relationship after the smallest trigger and later regret it.

It could be a part of you afraid of going through the same pain. Hence, the strong urge to leave without much thought.

It’s easy to hate these parts of us when we don’t know that they’re primary mission is to protect you.

If you want to learn more about this, I recommend reading “No Bad Parts” by Richard Schwartz.

9: You hate your past

Do you wish you could delete your past?

Is there something about it that makes you cringe?

Do you hate yourself for some things you did?

This is probably because you are holding a lot of shame/guilt.

You hate your past because you haven’t healed and learned to love all parts of you.

It’s one of the Complex PTSD symptoms.

Once you learn that those parts are just trying to fulfill a need, you will learn to love each of them.

Healing happens when you have compassion for all parts of you and as a result, have compassion for all.

Notice how people who hate others so much, are just projecting because they hate a part of themselves.

10: You think you have an addictive personality

Do you wonder why other people seem to be able to do things in moderation?

Do you feel obsessive? Maybe about food, alcohol, sex, video games, etc. to the point that they become destructive.

Whatever it is, your dopamine levels are probably not normal because of complex trauma so you overcompensate with cheap dopamine.

Escapism is the term. What shadows are you trying to escape from?

11: You go on extreme phases of isolation/withdrawal

I’ve never really felt like I truly belonged.

I later realized this was due to how badly I was treated when I was a little kid.

My mind translated this to “I deserve to be treated like shit.”

So subconsciously, I was afraid that when other people got to know me, they would realize that I am shit and treat me like one.

Due to this, I constantly isolated and withdrew.

It was hard to open up to people when you constantly have this fear that they will reject you because there must be something wrong with you.

Building friendships was exhausting as I didn’t think I was capable of being loved and accepted for who I am.

But these are all lies.

They treated you like shit because there is something wrong with them, not you.

The truth is, they are just not good people.

Because no one deserves to be treated like trash, and no good person would ever treat a kid (or anybody) like trash.

12: You struggle to lose weight

When your body doesn’t feel safe, it would hold on to energy stores as much as it could.

It’s also our body’s way of creating a safety barrier.

German New Medicine also has a good explanation of how our bodies respond to conflict.

In this case, the brain may signal the body to store fat as a way of cushioning or insulating itself from perceived harm.

There are also studies about the connection between childhood trauma and obesity in adults.

My blog about “how trauma makes you gain weight” is coming soon. Please write a comment if you want me to publish it asap!

13: You feel numb

Do you feel like your emotions are turned off?

Like everything is blank and you feel nothing at all?

When I was diagnosed with dissociative disorder, I realized that this is such a useful survival mechanism for when you can’t fight nor flee.

It’s also our brain’s way of saving us when the pain is too much for us to handle.

It becomes maladaptive if this becomes your default.

It’s a Complex PTSD symptom that needs to be addressed.

14: You have poor digestion/ you’re always bloated

I once spent a whole year looking 3 months pregnant and just had the worst gut health.

After a long journey of hospital visits, I found out that it was due to trauma.

When you are in danger, your body doesn’t prioritize other processes like digestion.

Its priority is for you to survive.

Imagine your body thinking that you are being chased by a predator.

The priority is to get your body to fight, to run, or to freeze.

It will focus on holding onto energy stores and bringing circulation to the muscles you would need most for survival.

This concept goes all the way back to psychologist and former chairman of the Department of Physiology at Harvard, Walter Cannon, who first described the fight or flight response.

15: You doom scroll/distract yourself

At this point, we now know that social media is addictive. Our phones are addictive.

But you would feel it if there is something more underneath the addiction.

If you spend a whole day scrolling and feeling bad about it, are you maybe trying to escape?

Are you subconsciously trying to punish yourself by not doing something to make you feel good for the day instead of scrolling?

And after that, do you feel terrible and hate yourself?

Maybe it’s your subconscious mind’s way of helping you prove your self limiting beliefs that you absorbed from childhood.

Kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As I mentioned, hating yourself is one of the complex PTSD symptoms.

16: You can’t focus, think clearly, or react quickly

Surprise! Trauma affects your brain by shrinking your hippocampus.

According to this article by Dr. Danielle Rousseau, trauma affects the volume of the hippocampus and therefore, weakens neurogenesis.

Neurogenesis is important for good memory function and creating emotional resilience.

That’s why people with CPTSD have trouble thinking clearly or reacting quickly.

17: You easily get stressed/overwhelmed

As mentioned, the hippocampus is important for creating emotional resilience.

A smaller hippocampus makes us more susceptible to stress.

So one of the Complex PTSD symptoms is, that your stress tolerance shrinks.

You also have difficulty regulating your emotions causing overwhelm.

So don’t feel ashamed that you’re so bad at handling stress compared to others.

The good news is, with Complex PTSD treatment, you may slowly widen your capacity.

Check out my article about why I quit freelancing to prioritize my healing.

How To Heal Complex PTSD

The best way to heal Complex PTSD is by seeking help from a trauma-informed therapist. There’s Somatic Experiencing and EMDR therapy.

CHeck out my blog about the Things I Wish I knew Before Starting EMDR Therapy.

According to the book The Body Keeps The Score, yoga, theatre, IFS, neurofeedback, among others, are also good tools.

FAQ

Is Complex PTSD a disability?

Complex PTSD is a disability when it disrupts a person’s ability to live a normal life. For example, if it affects his/her ability to be and stay employed. The CPTSD Foundation explains this better.

How can you tell if someone has Complex PTSD?

The truth is, it’s hard to tell, but there are subtle signs you could look out for. If someone obviously has low self-esteem, they keep apologizing when they don’t have to, have trouble keeping friends or partners due to their mental state, tolerate mistreatment, are always on edge, withdraw, or are unable to think clearly or react quickly, etc.

Is Complex PTSD serious?

Complex PTSD is a serious condition that prevents people from living a normal life. The good news is that it can be treated by seeking professional help. It may take time, but it can be treated.

Conclusion

If most of the stuff we mentioned on the list resonates with you, there’s a big chance you have Complex PTSD.

I mentioned that it’s up to you what you want to do with that information.

If you ask me, I would see a professional and get myself diagnosed.

What’s important is that you try to be as honest as possible about your symptoms.

Also, a lot of people make this mistake where as soon as they get diagnosed, they use this to re-affirm how sad they are and they get stuck in a loop of self-pity.

Our negative emotions and circumstances can also be addictive.

That’s why people who grew up in an abusive household tend to be attracted to similar unhealthy relationships.

This is what’s familiar to our brains. Our brains love the familiar and get threatened by the opposite.

It’s another maladaptive survival mechanism that we’ll talk about in another blog post.

Make the primary goal to help yourself change those limiting beliefs and change your life.

As Dr. Joe Dispenza said: You have to break the habit of being yourself.

Do you think you have Complex PTSD? Let me know in the comments!