When we think of trauma, many of us picture a specific, terrifying incident that leaves a lasting mark. But Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or C-PTSD, challenges that perception. It’s a form of trauma that doesn’t always link directly to one event but reflects a prolonged pattern of harm. This is not the kind of stress response that follows a one-time ordeal but a response forged in repeated patterns of harm. Whether from abusive relationships, high-control groups, or prolonged bullying, C-PTSD leaves marks that don’t fade with a single conversation. Instead, it rewires our understanding of safety, trust, and identity.
As trauma expert Judith Herman wrote. “Trauma robs the victim of a sense of power and control; the guiding principle of recovery is to restore power and control.” With C-PTSD, that sense of “power and control” often seems elusive because the harm itself was drawn out, and often covert. If you’ve ever struggled with intense reactions that feel bigger than what “should” have caused them, you’re not alone.
What Is C-PTSD?
C-PTSD is a possible result of prolonged, interpersonal trauma—a haunting that seeps deep into our being. Unlike traditional PTSD, more closely tied to a specific event (though thats not black and white either). C-PTSD develops from chronic exposure to harm, especially when that harm comes from someone or somewhere meant to be trustworthy. For many survivors, it’s as if the trauma takes on a life of its own, shaping their emotional world in ways that may not make “logical sense” to outsiders or even to themselves.
Judith Herman’s work on trauma reminds us that “repeated trauma in adult life erodes the structure of the personality already formed, but repeated trauma in childhood forms and deforms the personality.” This insight sheds light on how prolonged exposure to harm during formative years has a unique capacity to reshape identity itself.
When Trauma Feels Bigger Than The Source
One of the unique challenges with C-PTSD is that the emotional fallout often feels disproportionate to any one event or even the entire traumatic environment. Why? Because trauma isn’t a neat input-output machine; it’s more like emotional static, rippling and echoing far beyond its origins. Our nervous systems are wired for survival. When we live with prolonged harm or fear, they may adapt in ways that create lasting patterns.
For example, someone who grew up with emotionally unavailable or dismissive parents might find that, as adults, even minor rejections or critiques feel like catastrophic betrayals. Why? Because those early wounds taught them to brace for a world where love is conditional and self-protection is mandatory. Their nervous system adapted to these everyday harms by creating a host of emotional defences. Ones that are now hard to dismantle, even when no “enemy” is in sight.
How C-PTSD Shows Up In Everyday Life
Living with C-PTSD can feel like navigating a maze of complex emotions and reactions, where everything is sharper and more intense. Here are a few ways this often appears:
- Emotional Intensity: People with C-PTSD may feel their emotions deeply, with reactions that sometimes surprise them. It’s not unusual for anger, fear, or grief to feel overwhelming, even in seemingly “minor” situations.
- Hypervigilance: Ever feel like you’re on edge or scanning the environment for threats that aren’t there? With C-PTSD, this can become a way of life. Many survivors find themselves attuned to tiny details. Constantly gauging the “safety” of a situation, as if trained to detect invisible dangers.
- Persistent Guilt and Shame: Unlike traditional PTSD, where guilt and shame might be tied to a specific event, C-PTSD often fosters a general feeling of unworthiness or inadequacy.
- Flashbacks or Emotional Flooding: Flashbacks in C-PTSD might not look like “movie-reel” scenes replaying but can feel like intense emotional “reboots,” where one suddenly feels trapped in the emotions of a past trauma.
- Dissociation: This is often a survival tool for those enduring prolonged trauma. Dissociation can range from feeling emotionally numb to having an out-of-body experience during distressing moments.
Why The Source Doesn’t Always Match The Experience
One of the biggest barriers to healing C-PTSD is the feeling that it shouldn’t be “this bad.” Society often tells us that trauma is only “legitimate” if it’s attached to something extreme and obvious. Yet trauma, especially complex trauma, is deeply personal. What creates lasting harm isn’t always the visible intensity of the source. It is the invisible ways it rewires our thoughts, emotions, and reactions.
Imagine two people who endured similar experiences: one emerges relatively unscathed, while the other develops C-PTSD. Why? A range of factors can shape these outcomes, including past experiences, support systems, personality traits, and even our neurobiology. Trauma isn’t always tied directly to the obvious “bad” people or situations. Sometimes, it’s the small betrayals, daily emotional wounds, or a pervasive sense of helplessness in an environment that’s otherwise “normal” that leaves the biggest scars.
The Intersection of Religious Trauma and C-PTSD
Religious trauma often sits at a crossroads of personal, spiritual, and social harm, leading to a distinct kind of complex trauma. When someone is repeatedly exposed to doctrines that shame, isolate, or induce fear, the effects can cut deeply and leave a lasting mark on one’s identity and sense of self. Unlike a singular traumatic event, religious trauma is often cumulative, built up over years or even decades. This sustained exposure to harmful religious messaging can result into C-PTSD, where the past remains deeply entangled with the present.
In many high-control religious settings, C-PTSD may develop as a response to prolonged exposure to fear-based teachings, conditional love, or environments where followers are encouraged to suppress doubts. These experiences are often dismissed as “for your own good”. Or wrapped in promises of spiritual growth or salvation, which can obscure their impact. But for the person enduring it, the effects are anything but abstract. A constant state of hypervigilance, recurring guilt, and shame that doesn’t seem to “match” the present, along with intense, lasting emotional responses to seemingly innocuous situations.
As Judith Herman insightfully stated, “The guarantee of safety in relationships is the foundation of successful recovery from trauma.” In religious trauma, safety in relationships is often compromised, creating environments where trust, security, and acceptance are withheld. This deprivation doesn’t only affect a person’s spiritual life—it reshapes their relationships with family, community, and, themselves.
How Religious Trauma Shapes the C-PTSD Experience
With religious trauma, the sense of safety that C-PTSD sufferers need for recovery may be particularly elusive. It is not just one’s personal experiences but also the entire belief system or community that may feel threatening. Survivors often find themselves left to wrestle with:
- Spiritual Hypervigilance. Growing up in a high-demand religious environment can cause a person to be constantly alert for signs of “sin,” mistakes, or anything that might bring condemnation. This hypervigilance doesn’t switch off when they leave the setting. Instead, it follows them into new relationships, workspaces, and personal endeavours.
- Internalised Shame and Self-Criticism. Many religious environments cultivate a powerful sense of unworthiness. Where individuals are taught to see themselves as inherently flawed or sinful. The sense of guilt can be relentless, resurfacing in the form of inner criticism, persistent shame, or feelings of inadequacy.
- Estrangement from Self. For individuals raised in belief systems that condemn certain thoughts, desires, or identities (particularly within the LGBTQIA+ community), C-PTSD often involves feeling deeply disconnected from their own values, wants, or identity. This estrangement can be especially intense for those who were taught that being true to themselves would lead to rejection or punishment.
When unpacking C-PTSD tied to religious trauma, it’s common for survivors to feel as if they’re constantly moving between two worlds. The world they came from and the one they’re working to create. This dynamic can cause what’s known as “emotional flashbacks”. Where a present-day experience or interaction brings up intense feelings associated with religious trauma, like shame, fear, or guilt.
Healing from C-PTSD: Rewiring the Self
Healing from C-PTSD isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey.
- Therapy: Approaches like EMDR, Brainspotting, and Somatic Experiencing are powerful tools for releasing trauma stored in the body. Trauma-informed talk therapy, can help unpack and have our experiences witnessed without re-traumatising.
- Psychoeducation. This provides C-PTSD survivors with essential insights into how trauma impacts the brain and body. Offering validation and language for their experiences. It not only helps them see their reactions as natural responses to trauma but also gives them words to articulate what they’ve been through. This language can be a powerful tool, allowing survivors to communicate their needs, recognise their resilience, and foster self-compassion, setting a strong foundation for effective healing.
- Self-Compassion: For many with C-PTSD, the critical inner voice is relentless. Practicing self-compassion—giving ourselves the same kindness we’d offer a loved one—can begin to challenge the narratives trauma created.
- Nervous System Regulation. Stephen Porges’ polyvagal theory has brought powerful insights into how we can manage and soothe our nervous systems. For C-PTSD survivors, the body often stays locked in fight-or-flight or freeze, making it hard to feel safe and at ease. Healing involves learning to re-engage the ventral vagal system—like when we feel connected, calm, and socially engaged. Practices that encourage social connection, like gentle eye contact, co-regulation exercises, and slow, rhythmic breathing, can help shift the nervous system back into a place of safety.
- Grounding Techniques: Being present in the body is essential for breaking free of the constant “alert” mode. Techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness practices can help anchor us in the present.
- Reconnecting with Joy: Trauma often robs us of joy, spontaneity, and play. Healing from C-PTSD involves gradually reclaiming these pieces. Allowing ourselves to find pleasure in life again, even if it feels foreign or uncomfortable at first.
Final Words On ‘Justifying’ Trauma
If you’re dealing with C-PTSD, you may feel a constant pull to explain your experience to others or even yourself. But trauma doesn’t need justification to be real.
As Judith Herman wisely observed, “Recovery can take place only within the context of relationships; it cannot occur in isolation.” With this in mind, healing is not about erasing trauma. It is about learning to live alongside it in ways that let us reconnect with our full humanity. Recovery is complex. With patience, understanding, and sometimes a little humour, it is possible to navigate the lingering shadows of C-PTSD. Finding a new sense of peace.
If you would like to discuss therapy, please reach out. I am trained in the wonderful modality called Brainspotting, you can read more about that here.