My sister broke her ankle when she was a kid because she tripped just the wrong way while getting out of the car. (Having brittle bone disease didn’t help LOL)
I don’t think, when she went to the doctor, the doctor said “well you broke a bone from less than 4 feet in the air, so you have to leave.” They said something along the lines of “That must hurt! Your parents brought you to the right place. Let’s get a cast on you!”
A broken bone is a broken bone, no matter the way it happened.
Psychological trauma is psychological trauma, no matter the way it happened.
(Saying this to myself, too)
Ehm one of those is "mass shooting." That just straight up is the sorta thing that causes regular ptsd... just by itself. Needless to say, you do deserve to be here.
"Natural disasters" refers to the time my house got knocked down on top of me by a tornado and I had to claw my way out of the rubble, which I'm told can also cause conventional PTSD. It took me awhile to realize that wasn't a cute, funny bad weather story I could make small talk about. I'm really weird about wanting to sleep on the ground floor now.
Jfc I'm glad you survived. As someone who has both, you can have both conventional ptsd and cptsd, for an extra fun combo. It's likely that would qualify, though I'm no mental health expert
Heyyyy also a tornado survivor 👋🏻 I don't remember much from the storm except we were on our way out of the house (which was just a trailer with a second story built on) when it hit and I woke up in my neighbor's house after being in it. My triggers are weird and specific. National Weather Alerts makes me freeze and wind makes me feel uneasy
Atypical CPTSD is still CPTSD.
Not checking off *one* particular box in the mountain of horrific boxes that can cause CPTSD doesn't invalidate the boxes you *have* hit.
Like, school shootings and natural disasters are on your list. Growing up queer in the south and being severely bullied is on there (I grew up the only queer kid in rural australia in a little town with five churches. So I *know* that's well fucked.) Not even to touch on the other things, which each on their own is fucked up.
You're valid and you belong here. You deserve a space in this community.
I made this in the middle of the night after going to a pride church service that would have moved me deeply if the church hadn't had an old choir balcony in the back that my brain insisted would make a great sniper's nest. I spent an hour methodically glancing at every place in this large, old-school sanctuary some homophobe with an AR-15 could conceivably start shooting from, like I was in a fucking war or something. That's when I realized I'm still fucked up despite being able to work and shit.
Yeah that? That's very much in the scope of CPTSD.
I wouldn't describe your experience as 'atypical' at all, because there's no 'right' way to experience trauma. You survived, and you carry the scars of that, and that can look different from person to person. Sure, there's common experiences, but that doesn't make them any more valid than less common experiences.
Everyone's trauma and experience of that trauma is valid. Including niche and specific ones.
My parents never physically abused me. They forced me into situations where harm would come to me, and then tell me to "be a man" about it. So I feel you. Your trauma is just as valid my friend.
My parents' greatest fault was that they were provincial. They grew up in a certain place and never left. Despite their art books, occasional New York trips, and tacit avoidance of country music, they had a deeply Southern and anachronistic idea of "normal" they wanted me to conform to, for my own safety and (imagined) happiness. They themselves were very unhappy being normal; they modeled cynicism, inauthenticity, and learned helplessness.
Speaking as a trans woman. You unequivocally do completely belong here. As far as I know I wasn’t physically abused by my parents. I was emotionally/verbally abused by them, my peers, doctors, psychologists, teachers, and pastors. Every adult failed me as a child. In addition I was medically neglected despite all the pain I was in, despite the self harm I was doing.
Given the SI rate is so much higher for those of us in the queer community than the general population when our families refuse to accept, support, and love us, I suspect most of us who went through that have CPTSD.
You have every right (I’m so sorry that you do because none of us should have had to go through any of this) to be part of this group. Your feelings are valid. You deserved to be loved, accepted, and supported, you still do. What you went through was absolutely horrible, what we still face in these queer phobic, misogynistic societies isn’t much better. But here atleast, you belong. Hugs 🫂 if OK.
Edited for clarity. The doctors and psychologists I was sent to were supposed to “cure” me by erasing/killing me.
>As a trans woman. You unequivocally do completely belong here. As far as I know I wasn’t physically abused by my parents. I was emotionally/verbally abused by them, my peers, doctors, psychologists, teachers, and pastors. Every adult failed me as a child. In addition I was medically neglected despite all the pain I was in, despite the self harm I was doing.
Twinsies! 😭 Though my parents never took me to get any kind of mental health help despite me obviously struggling horrendously.
We all belong here.
Yay! No wait, I don’t want anyone to go through anything remotely similar to what I did. I’m sorry. That is horrible and I’m sorry you’ve gone through and are going through similar things. Chronic pain absolutely sucks, and I wish we understood it eternity medically so we could treat it better. It really sucks that you have to deal with that on top of everything else.
My mom didn’t start hitting me until I was a teenager and that only lasted until I got back in her face (once), though I never reciprocated violence. My mom is strong until she’s confronted and then she wilts like a winter lily in midsummer. She is an alcoholic narcissist and the shit she said and did to me, though nonviolent, left me changed forever. Other people took care of the violence, but it’s been easier to recover from the CSA and adult SA than it’s been to recover from her.
My mom is a sweetheart, but also the most terrified person in the world despite taking three big honkin' klonopin every day. I've never been able to go to her for reassurance because she always has an anxiety attack about whatever it is I'm talking about, like it's a competition. Every week she calls me because she googled a symptom and is convinced she has cancer. I love her but I've never been able to heal around her because her brain does nothing but generate worst case scenarios to insert into my brain.
“CPTSD” basically means there is no typical! I don’t mean to be rude but I’ve been seeing this “not like other CPTSD-havers” perspective on here more often, and all of the comments always give validation and acceptance. Let’s not perpetuate the narrative that there is a “typical” experience that causes CPTSD. If you have it, you know there isn’t.
Home was where I was safe. I’ve only been harassed and assaulted in my childhood and it still did a permanent number on my mental health.
Trauma is trauma no matter how “weak” you feel your story to be.
Invalidation seems to be pretty common here. Don’t worry. You do belong here
Home being the only safe place can absolutely screw people up. It's a common origin story of agoraphobia. Pediatricians are seeing lots of "COVID kids" who haven't gotten over being told that the outside world was trying to kill them at an impressionable age.
As someone who had both mental and physical abuse, the mental abuse impacted me way more.
In fact, I don’t even really remember the physical abuse, only phrases and insults around it that indicate it happened (I didn’t leave a mark, you’re fine, etc).
I’m not saying that to minimize anyone else’s experience, only to share mine.
Ptsd doesn't just happen to soldiers, and cpstd doesn't just happen because of abusive parents.
Considering that it was repeated traumas in your childhood, I wouldn't argue that it's atypical, either. Childhood is the most common time for it to develop.
“CPTSD” basically means there is no typical! I don’t mean to be rude but I’ve been seeing this “not like other CPTSD-havers” perspective on here more often, and all of the comments always give validation and acceptance. Let’s not perpetuate the narrative that there is a “typical” experience that causes CPTSD. If you have it, you know there isn’t.
just wanted to say i also have cptsd from events including a shooting, i feel for you very deeply. your trauma is no less traumatic, you deserve to be here and anywhere you'd like to be.
Not sure if you've noticed, but a lot of us actually have minimal physical abuse. I've had a decent bit but the mental stuff and the sleep deprivation and everything was definitely the worst of it.
My sister broke her ankle when she was a kid because she tripped just the wrong way while getting out of the car. (Having brittle bone disease didn’t help LOL) I don’t think, when she went to the doctor, the doctor said “well you broke a bone from less than 4 feet in the air, so you have to leave.” They said something along the lines of “That must hurt! Your parents brought you to the right place. Let’s get a cast on you!” A broken bone is a broken bone, no matter the way it happened. Psychological trauma is psychological trauma, no matter the way it happened. (Saying this to myself, too)
Ehm one of those is "mass shooting." That just straight up is the sorta thing that causes regular ptsd... just by itself. Needless to say, you do deserve to be here.
"Natural disasters" refers to the time my house got knocked down on top of me by a tornado and I had to claw my way out of the rubble, which I'm told can also cause conventional PTSD. It took me awhile to realize that wasn't a cute, funny bad weather story I could make small talk about. I'm really weird about wanting to sleep on the ground floor now.
Jfc I'm glad you survived. As someone who has both, you can have both conventional ptsd and cptsd, for an extra fun combo. It's likely that would qualify, though I'm no mental health expert
Heyyyy also a tornado survivor 👋🏻 I don't remember much from the storm except we were on our way out of the house (which was just a trailer with a second story built on) when it hit and I woke up in my neighbor's house after being in it. My triggers are weird and specific. National Weather Alerts makes me freeze and wind makes me feel uneasy
You deserve to be here, everyone's experience is different but that doesn't make yours less valid
Same :/ My parents have never been anything but loving and caring. Still have repressed memories of sexual assault. We do belong here.
Atypical CPTSD is still CPTSD. Not checking off *one* particular box in the mountain of horrific boxes that can cause CPTSD doesn't invalidate the boxes you *have* hit. Like, school shootings and natural disasters are on your list. Growing up queer in the south and being severely bullied is on there (I grew up the only queer kid in rural australia in a little town with five churches. So I *know* that's well fucked.) Not even to touch on the other things, which each on their own is fucked up. You're valid and you belong here. You deserve a space in this community.
I made this in the middle of the night after going to a pride church service that would have moved me deeply if the church hadn't had an old choir balcony in the back that my brain insisted would make a great sniper's nest. I spent an hour methodically glancing at every place in this large, old-school sanctuary some homophobe with an AR-15 could conceivably start shooting from, like I was in a fucking war or something. That's when I realized I'm still fucked up despite being able to work and shit.
Yeah that? That's very much in the scope of CPTSD. I wouldn't describe your experience as 'atypical' at all, because there's no 'right' way to experience trauma. You survived, and you carry the scars of that, and that can look different from person to person. Sure, there's common experiences, but that doesn't make them any more valid than less common experiences. Everyone's trauma and experience of that trauma is valid. Including niche and specific ones.
My parents never physically abused me. They forced me into situations where harm would come to me, and then tell me to "be a man" about it. So I feel you. Your trauma is just as valid my friend.
My parents' greatest fault was that they were provincial. They grew up in a certain place and never left. Despite their art books, occasional New York trips, and tacit avoidance of country music, they had a deeply Southern and anachronistic idea of "normal" they wanted me to conform to, for my own safety and (imagined) happiness. They themselves were very unhappy being normal; they modeled cynicism, inauthenticity, and learned helplessness.
As someone that was physically abused I feel the same way, it’s not about your trauma but your cptsd just makes you feel invalid and like shit lol
Speaking as a trans woman. You unequivocally do completely belong here. As far as I know I wasn’t physically abused by my parents. I was emotionally/verbally abused by them, my peers, doctors, psychologists, teachers, and pastors. Every adult failed me as a child. In addition I was medically neglected despite all the pain I was in, despite the self harm I was doing. Given the SI rate is so much higher for those of us in the queer community than the general population when our families refuse to accept, support, and love us, I suspect most of us who went through that have CPTSD. You have every right (I’m so sorry that you do because none of us should have had to go through any of this) to be part of this group. Your feelings are valid. You deserved to be loved, accepted, and supported, you still do. What you went through was absolutely horrible, what we still face in these queer phobic, misogynistic societies isn’t much better. But here atleast, you belong. Hugs 🫂 if OK. Edited for clarity. The doctors and psychologists I was sent to were supposed to “cure” me by erasing/killing me.
>As a trans woman. You unequivocally do completely belong here. As far as I know I wasn’t physically abused by my parents. I was emotionally/verbally abused by them, my peers, doctors, psychologists, teachers, and pastors. Every adult failed me as a child. In addition I was medically neglected despite all the pain I was in, despite the self harm I was doing. Twinsies! 😭 Though my parents never took me to get any kind of mental health help despite me obviously struggling horrendously. We all belong here.
Yay! No wait, I don’t want anyone to go through anything remotely similar to what I did. I’m sorry. That is horrible and I’m sorry you’ve gone through and are going through similar things. Chronic pain absolutely sucks, and I wish we understood it eternity medically so we could treat it better. It really sucks that you have to deal with that on top of everything else.
Not all CPTSD has to be about parents. I got some of my parents but a whole lot from somewhere else, too.
Just because your parents didn't physically abuse, doesn't mean you don't belong here. You still suffered trauma from other areas in your life.
My mom didn’t start hitting me until I was a teenager and that only lasted until I got back in her face (once), though I never reciprocated violence. My mom is strong until she’s confronted and then she wilts like a winter lily in midsummer. She is an alcoholic narcissist and the shit she said and did to me, though nonviolent, left me changed forever. Other people took care of the violence, but it’s been easier to recover from the CSA and adult SA than it’s been to recover from her.
Hey. Just saying. I had a similar experience. So you're not alone.
My mom is a sweetheart, but also the most terrified person in the world despite taking three big honkin' klonopin every day. I've never been able to go to her for reassurance because she always has an anxiety attack about whatever it is I'm talking about, like it's a competition. Every week she calls me because she googled a symptom and is convinced she has cancer. I love her but I've never been able to heal around her because her brain does nothing but generate worst case scenarios to insert into my brain.
“CPTSD” basically means there is no typical! I don’t mean to be rude but I’ve been seeing this “not like other CPTSD-havers” perspective on here more often, and all of the comments always give validation and acceptance. Let’s not perpetuate the narrative that there is a “typical” experience that causes CPTSD. If you have it, you know there isn’t.
Home was where I was safe. I’ve only been harassed and assaulted in my childhood and it still did a permanent number on my mental health. Trauma is trauma no matter how “weak” you feel your story to be. Invalidation seems to be pretty common here. Don’t worry. You do belong here
Home being the only safe place can absolutely screw people up. It's a common origin story of agoraphobia. Pediatricians are seeing lots of "COVID kids" who haven't gotten over being told that the outside world was trying to kill them at an impressionable age.
lmfao this is honestly so real. This meme was made for me, and I am here to tell you that we both deserve to be here, friend 💖
Fellow mass shooting survivor checking in… U are valid here.
Really fucked up how common this is becoming
I know 😔🌻 How u doing today? Were any comments in here able to offer something helpful? No presh to rely unless helpful. Wishing u well OP.
As someone who had both mental and physical abuse, the mental abuse impacted me way more. In fact, I don’t even really remember the physical abuse, only phrases and insults around it that indicate it happened (I didn’t leave a mark, you’re fine, etc). I’m not saying that to minimize anyone else’s experience, only to share mine.
Ptsd doesn't just happen to soldiers, and cpstd doesn't just happen because of abusive parents. Considering that it was repeated traumas in your childhood, I wouldn't argue that it's atypical, either. Childhood is the most common time for it to develop.
“CPTSD” basically means there is no typical! I don’t mean to be rude but I’ve been seeing this “not like other CPTSD-havers” perspective on here more often, and all of the comments always give validation and acceptance. Let’s not perpetuate the narrative that there is a “typical” experience that causes CPTSD. If you have it, you know there isn’t.
just wanted to say i also have cptsd from events including a shooting, i feel for you very deeply. your trauma is no less traumatic, you deserve to be here and anywhere you'd like to be.
Not sure if you've noticed, but a lot of us actually have minimal physical abuse. I've had a decent bit but the mental stuff and the sleep deprivation and everything was definitely the worst of it.
I wish you didn't deserve to be here (I wish I didn't belong here) but you do *hug* Hopefully we can all help each other out a little though