When it comes to trauma, what most people are familiar with is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition that occurs after an individual has experienced a significant traumatic event.
However, in real life, there is “another type of trauma disorder” that does not involve a severe threat to life, yet exists in our lives in a long-term, subtle, and often unnoticed manner.
CPTSD,
is a more hidden, longer-lasting, and more complex type of trauma.
You may feel that you are constantly haunted by the past, living an unhappy life, but when you talk about it, you feel it does not reach the level of “real trauma,” leaving you unsure whether to seek help;
You may feel that the environment you are in is always filled with danger, making it impossible to relax for a long time, and afraid to approach others;
You may have some sleep issues, always feeling that once you fall asleep, a terrifying disaster will strike;
In daily life, you might often get deeply entrenched in intense negative emotions over trivial matters; feeling small, fragile, and helpless, and finding everything extremely difficult;
These feelings may arise because you have experienced or are currently suffering from “complex trauma.”
The film “The Sea of Anger”
In trauma research, the “Tyle Classification” refers to one-time, significant traumas as “simple trauma,” also known as “Type I trauma.” The mental disorder corresponding to this type of trauma is often PTSD.
Another type of trauma is long-term, repeated, and severe human-induced trauma, termed “complex trauma,” also known as “Type II trauma.”
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) refers to the psychological condition resulting from such trauma.
In 2018, the World Health Organization distinguished CPTSD from PTSD and provided a detailed definition and diagnostic guidelines for CPTSD in the ICD-11, defining it as a mental disorder arising from prolonged, repeated, and inescapable human-induced traumatic events.
For most patients, trauma issues often encompass various sources of trauma, including interpersonal relationships (such as sexual or physical assault, bullying in schools), childhood experiences (such as early emotional neglect, childhood abuse), and other traumatic events (such as the death of a loved one, disasters), representing a complex, long-term trauma.
The British series “Melrose,” follows Patrick, who experienced a troubled childhood with his father.
These traumatic events are relatively concealed and can sometimes be viewed as “normal” situations, making the inner pain of patients even more overlooked.
In a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2019, it was found that 60% of American adults have experienced childhood trauma at least once, with nearly one-quarter reporting three or more instances of childhood trauma.
As many as 20% of these individuals may be undiagnosed patients with CPTSD.
