For many people, common symptoms such as anxiety, depression, chronic stress, eating issues, or relationship struggles are the echoes of earlier unbearable experiences — all the times we had to adapt in order to get through. 

Unlike a single traumatic event or shock trauma, Complex Trauma or C‑PTSD develops over time — often in childhood within important relationships; layering relationship ruptures with shocking event(s) and/or neglect. When the people who were meant to protect, attune, and care for us couldn’t (or didn’t), we learned ways to cope and keep going. Those adaptation strategies helped us survive, though in adulthood these brilliant strategies can be how we keep ourselves stuck. 

What Complex Trauma Can Look Like

Common signs include:

• Nervous system swings: feeling revved up, shut down, or stuck in between, often triggered by relationship difficulties
• Trouble regulating emotions; big reactions that don’t match the moment
• Chronic shame, self‑criticism, or feeling “not enough”
• Patterns of distance, people‑pleasing, or conflict in relationships
• Feeling disconnected from the body — numbness, tension, pain, or not knowing what you feel
• Identity confusion or feeling split between parts of yourself

C‑PTSD is not your fault and with the right kind of support, it is possible to move toward increasing steadiness, connection, and aliveness.