Sunday, May 29, 2016
In the summer of 2014, approximately a year after I began working with my therapist, I was introduced to the idea of Complex PTSD by a separate therapist who was also based here in Minnesota. Dr. Judith Herman of Harvard University has put forth the idea of Complex PTSD as a new diagnosis as a means of describing the symptoms of long-term trauma.
As I learned about the idea of Complex PTSD I felt quite saddened to note that I could identify with all six major difficulties noted below. Now, two years since that time, I am pleased to note I have essentially healed. I still experience some lingering sadness and grief but I feel quite good most of the time now. My comments on these difficulties appear in italics below.
Emotional Regulation. I resolved my longstanding anger a few years ago. It is no longer a burden that I carry. I do still experience some residual sadness now. It has significantly improved as well. When I feel sadness well up within me now I find it is often connected to how often I was left alone as a child.
Consciousness. My deeply learned coping skill of dissociation is not something I regularly engage in any more. I have learned to listen to my intuition and maintain healthy boundaries when I first meet people.
Self-Perception. My issues with my own self-perception have essentially completely disappeared. If I feel guilt now it's only related to my own self-care. I wish I had taken better care of myself earlier in my own life.
Distorted Perceptions of the Perpetrator. This was a particular problem for me earlier in my history of healing. But I no longer engage in disempowering thoughts in which I give away my power to past perpetrators. I know it is my responsibility to live a healthy life for myself now. I cannot change what happened in my own past but I can choose to make healthy choices and cultivate healthy relationships now.
Relations with Others. I no longer get caught up in the delusional idea that someone else has the right, responsibility or ability to rescue me.
One's System of Meanings. I am still struggling with my sense of what the possibilities for my future are. I have more clarity than I ever have had regarding what I wish to focus on doing in my own future.
In the summer of 2014, approximately a year after I began working with my therapist, I was introduced to the idea of Complex PTSD by a separate therapist who was also based here in Minnesota. Dr. Judith Herman of Harvard University has put forth the idea of Complex PTSD as a new diagnosis as a means of describing the symptoms of long-term trauma.
As I learned about the idea of Complex PTSD I felt quite saddened to note that I could identify with all six major difficulties noted below. Now, two years since that time, I am pleased to note I have essentially healed. I still experience some lingering sadness and grief but I feel quite good most of the time now. My comments on these difficulties appear in italics below.
Emotional Regulation. I resolved my longstanding anger a few years ago. It is no longer a burden that I carry. I do still experience some residual sadness now. It has significantly improved as well. When I feel sadness well up within me now I find it is often connected to how often I was left alone as a child.
Consciousness. My deeply learned coping skill of dissociation is not something I regularly engage in any more. I have learned to listen to my intuition and maintain healthy boundaries when I first meet people.
Self-Perception. My issues with my own self-perception have essentially completely disappeared. If I feel guilt now it's only related to my own self-care. I wish I had taken better care of myself earlier in my own life.
Distorted Perceptions of the Perpetrator. This was a particular problem for me earlier in my history of healing. But I no longer engage in disempowering thoughts in which I give away my power to past perpetrators. I know it is my responsibility to live a healthy life for myself now. I cannot change what happened in my own past but I can choose to make healthy choices and cultivate healthy relationships now.
Relations with Others. I no longer get caught up in the delusional idea that someone else has the right, responsibility or ability to rescue me.
One's System of Meanings. I am still struggling with my sense of what the possibilities for my future are. I have more clarity than I ever have had regarding what I wish to focus on doing in my own future.
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