Trauma, PTSD and CPTSD: What Are The Differences? Are We All Traumatized?
Until recently, trauma was poorly understood by modern Western science. In the 20th century “shell shock” was used to describe soldiers returning from war who exhibited symptoms including fatigue, confusion, tremors, and exaggerated startle responses. It was frequently diagnosed when a current or former soldier could not function but there was no obvious cause as to why.
Then, in the 1970s, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk began his industry-changing work learning what shell shock is and what we understand it as today – trauma. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in 1980. In 1988 Dr. Judith Herman of Harvard University added CPTSD – Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to the literature.
This filled an important gap in psychological theory and practice. Dr. van der Kolk’s research also proved that trauma is not something that only happens to soldiers. Trauma can, and does, effect ANYONE. Yup, you read that correctly! In fact, 1 in 11 people in the United States will received PTSD diagnosis during their life time. That is about 30 million people. More than the entire state of Texas.
What Is Trauma?
The truth is everyone experiences trauma. But not everyone develops PTSD symptoms. This may be the biggest myth about trauma: if you do not have PTSD than you do not have trauma. Wrong!
Very broadly trauma is what happens when there is more data coming in than your brain can process at a time. Imagine the download bar on your computer as its estimate wildly swings from “5 minutes” to “2 minutes” to “3 hours,” and so on. The difference between your computer and your brain is that your computer will eventually download everything. Anything that does not get downloaded in your brain in real time stays un-downloaded.
But another way – image a water funnel. If too much water is poured at once the funnel fills up and spills over. That spilled water does not make it into the container. That is your trauma. Trauma is spilled water. It is unprocessed memories that you brain was unable to appropriately file in the proper drawer.
As a result, every time we access one of these unprocessed memories it can feel almost or just as raw and real as the moment the event happened. The traumatic event does not even have to be “big” or “major” to influence us. We call that Little T trauma.
Big T and Little T Trauma
Traumatic events can be broken down into two categories. Big T and Little T trauma. This apparent size has nothing to do with the intensity or effect of the trauma. Maybe a better term would be “headline” and “subhead” trauma.
The Big T/Headline traumas are the ones we all think of; a bad car accident, sexual violence, natural disasters, war, terrorist events, serious injury or illness, the death of someone close to you, etc. Not everyone will experience these. These are the traumas that are most likely to result in PTSD and CPTSD.
The Little T/Subhead traumas are the ones society does not tend to think about. We may go so far as to say everyone has had at least once of these. These do not typically result in PTSD/CPTSD but they can still influence our future thinking and behavior.
This could be a scary encounter with a dog as a small child, getting separated from your family in a public place, a scary movie, a minor car accident. The list is endless. What makes any of these a traumatic moment comes down to your brain’s ability at that specific time and place to process/not process all that data or get all the water down the funnel without spilling over.
PTSD/CPTSD – When the Trauma is Too Big
Big T traumas are the ones that typically result in PTSD and CPTSD, but not always. PTSD/CPTSD are the names for a group of symptoms that result from the brain having an extra hard time working through unprocessed trauma. Unprocessed is the key. Remember all that spilled water.
Symptoms of PTSD and CPTSD
While PTSD and CPTSD may on the surface appear to have similar symptoms, there are some differences. Let’s begin by taking a look at the symptoms for each.
Symptoms of PTSD
The American Psychiatric Association has a summary of PTSD symptoms. These include, broadly:
intrusion symptoms
avoidance symptoms
arousal and reactivity symptoms
cognition and mood symptoms
Additional Symptoms of CPTSD
In addition, CPTSD can include:
difficulties managing emotions, like anger or intense sadness
persistent feelings of emptiness or hopelessness
relationship challenges, such as trust issues, avoiding others, or participating in unhealthy dynamics
What is the Difference Between PTSD and CPTSD?
The overarching differences between PTSD and CPTSD is how old you were when the trauma happened, what happened, and for how long. PTSD typically involves one event. CPTSD is what typically happens after repeated, long-term traumatic events.
The types of traumas that can result in CPTSD symptoms include:
Abuse
Neglect
Abandonment
Domestic violence or other ongoing abuse
Torture
Kidnapping
Living through a war
Prolonged refugee status
CPTSD can develop if any of the above happens during adulthood, however, it is more common to see CPTSD because of these things happening in childhood. Experiencing any of these during childhood greatly increases the chances of developing CPTSD.
The reasons for that include, but are certainly not limited it, children’s incomplete brain development and on-going identity formation. There is more to it than that, but a more complete explanation would require a much longer and academic write up than we have space here for on the blog.
A useful tool for gauging the level of trauma in one’s childhood is the Adverse Childhood Experiences scale (ACE). It is a ten-question measure that can offer a window into one’s odds of developing both physical and mental health problems later in life, such as CPTSD. The higher the score the more likely these problems will develop, though this is of course not a perfect predictor.
What Can I Do About My Own PTSD or CPTSD?
Thankfully, having PTSD or CPTSD is not a life sentence. Those with these diagnoses can and do recover and living happy lives that are not controlled by their symptoms.
Consider Trauma Therapy in Chicago, IL
This belief in the ability of humans to heal from trauma is the reason our trauma specialist, Kari Holman and our other online therapists at our therapy practice based in Chicago, IL offer therapy directed at increasing your confidence and helping you heal from your trauma in Illinois via online therapy. We want to help you connect with yourself and begin healing from the comfort of your own home.
Take the steps below to get started:
Fill out a consult form here.
Meet with a therapist to see if online therapy is a good fit.
Start connecting with yourself and experience the healing you deserve!
OTHER SERVICES AT OBSIDIAN COUNSELING AND WELLNESS
When you work with a therapist at our counseling practice in the Chicago, IL area, you will be met with compassion and authenticity. The team at our therapy practice feels honored to help guide folks, including teenagers, along their healing process. Specifically, we help people in addressing anxiety, trauma, and work stress. One of our more unique services is yoga therapy, which can also be done using online sessions. We also specialize in supporting LGBTQIA+ folks for a variety of issues. We hope that you take the leap to begin counseling with us. You deserve it.