CPTSD: Four Discoveries That Are Revolutionizing Treatment

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Now that we know adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can cause neurological changes, the old, mostly psychological approaches to treating CPTSD are making way for newer, brain-based treatments that hold promise for millions of survivors.

In this video I talk about four discoveries that transformed our old understanding of the problem. I describe more effective strategies that support healing, whether or not you have access to good professional help.
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[nickig]

I think you are just amazing. Please do not stop making these videos. You have in a sense saved my life and you have helped me help others to understand what I am going thru and what they too have been going thru for so long. You have given me hope and a new sense of purpose and self-worth. Thank you thank you thank you. Much love.
-Nicole

[lizadolittle]

"Let go of the identity of a screwed up person!" I love that line! That's not who I am, screwed up things have happened to me by screwed up people but IT IS NOT my identity, Praise the Lord! I am beautifully and wonderfully made! Thanks again Anna! You made my day!

[TheMUSICHEART]

I'm 70 now but at 14 diagnosed with manic depression. Years of tandem psychiatric and psychological group meetings, tens of thousands out of pocket for weekly individual therapy & group, workshops, medication (I've taken a ridiculous array of drugs alone and in combinations) management, 3 hospitalizations, 16 ECTs, given antipsychotics without consulting my doctor of 12 years.

My diagnosis became Treatment Resistant, Rapid Cycling, Type II Bipolar Disorder around 2008 and I was in a 5-year study for VNS Implant. And, all the treatments, services, reframing and reprogramming help that is available to those with the same kind of money I invested, but the diagnosis of CPTSD will not be coming from the ISP-11 to America any time soon. It took a lot of watching, listening and reading to have the confidence to tell my shrink my suspicions that my horror story childhood was Trauma that actually damage the amygdala and pineal glands of survivors of ongoing long term childhood trauma sufferers.

My point is that if any of the treatments, systems and trainings are covered by most health insurance, the most you may be reimbursed for will be 50% of the approved treatment. My psychiatrist won't accept insurance and I'll pay for his treatment, not a bean counter's opinion or alternative. Health care must include mental health care as they are inseparable integral elements of a system meant to care for the whole human being; mind, body and spirit.

[AugustAdvice]

Yes! Talk therapy always made it worse and we never got anywhere. I always felt like my nervous system was on high alert.

[marshallsmountain]

27 years ago I began therapy with a licensed clinical therapist after a lifetime of feeling like a failure. The value for me was an education about a very dysfunctional family of origin. The diagnosis was that I suffered moderate to severe child abuse. The concept of PTSD was very thin in those days. CPTSD, dysregulation, daily practice knowledge are helping me to heal. New knowledge is so welcome.

[princessglittersparkle]

I have osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, and suffer with debilitating migraines. And I truely believe this is tied to my home life as a child. I wish I could just block it all.

[kyancey]

I sit here struggling to even leave a comment. Gahhh I hate being so disregulated!! I was recently diagnosed with PTSD and started to dig the idea that I was traumatized “enough” to have PTSD. I say “enough” because I have struggled to accept I had THAT bad of an experience in childhood. But the more I learn from you, the more am understanding about myself. I’ve known for a long time I felt a bit “off” sometimes, but I’ve never been able to explain why. You explain how I feel in a way I’ve never been able to describe while talking to others. And honestly I just thought there was some wrong with me that no one else could relate to.

Your videos have been somewhat of the light at the end of the tunnel for me, a long, long, long tunnel. I always noticed this feeling I get before I have a roller coaster ride of emotions or the opposite, flat emotions. I’m discovering there’s much more as to why I overreact and self destruct at times. Knowledge is power. The more I learn the more I believe like I can sort out and control my disregulated periods.

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

[RebeccaLynnMusic]

The combination of meeting with my psychologist weekly, (it'll be a year next year) listening to Robert Sapolsky, reading The Body Keeps the Score, the CPTSD workbook, and YOU are essential to my healing. Good lord, better late than never.

One of your videos about dating (so to speak) actually directly helped me let go of a guy I really wanted a relationship with. He gave me every reason to like him and to believe what he said about his feelings for me. I let myself feel lots of sadness over it. But your messages helped ground me.

I'm now hearing you talk about not necessarily focusing on the sorrows of my childhood. All of this is fascinating and REALLY helps me understand why the hell I'm so troubled. I've got a lot of work to do.

[pw]

You are amazing. I love you for what you are doing to help people you have never met.
All of my 57 years has been in temporary relationships, jobs, friends, and done incomplete tasks my whole life. I have a lot of work to do but just knowing all of this is really helping me get better. Please keep doing videos about ways that help us see “clearly” if only for a little while.

[morganalexis]

Sometimes your videos are literally the only thing that help me come to a better more understanding place with myself and less of a place of trying to hide from the world and myself even. Thank you!!

[juliad]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Traditional therapy failed me in every way too. I can't bear the waste of my life because there was no where to turn for help - and it took so long to recover enough to even try to find help too.

[scottfitzpatrick]

Looking back at therapy i think the 2 most valuable things to me were therapists validating that my childhood was not emotionally safe and that it was normal for me to became the way i am. I started to no longer feel so down on myself that i was the problem. The other parrt was knowldge of how the nervous system worked and was always on high alert. I have to say though it took me 15 years to get better becasue i didn't know how things like yoga and meditation were crucial to reprogramming the nervous system.

I hope you find what works for you. Living in constant disregulation feels like being left behind in our own suffering. I agree with Anna let's find our potential. Sending love.

[dufus]

When you share YOUR journey and present so strongly it gives me confidence and you

[maryryan]

Thank you so much! This was really amazing. So simple. So normalising. This gives me so much more perspective on the cycle I have been on where I start to heal then something happens and then I'm in full flashback mode and feel I can never get out of the pit. I have only recently found your channel but I have had a number of magical aha moments with your videos. I do find when I start feeling better I notice how much trauma there is around me which then can send me on the downward dysregulation cycle. In future I will take your advice to turn to healing myself rather than focusing on others. I do live in hope that the more is known about cptsd the more trauma informed our society can become and then the more people can start to heal. Once again thank you so much

[sarahstrong]

Thank goodness. It is such a relief to hear you say it can cause cognitive impairment. I tried talking to doctors about my cognitive impairments for about twenty years & they acted as if I was imagining it or trying to get attention. Thank you for recognising it is a brain injury & saying it aloud.

[MzSoulll]

i'm so thankful to have discovered this channel. so so thankful.

[MissErinChase]

Awesome : ) Thank you so much!! At 61 years of age~this help, this realization, has been a long time coming. Thank you <3

[lizngotho]

Makes so much sense; why sharing this pain randomly, why talking about it, telling people about it, just gets me weird looks and people avoiding me entirely.

[lizadolittle]

Aw Anne, you made me cry. We all do have so much potential and thank you because we have you to help us! Listening to your videos has really helped me "get it ". I am healing so much and feel so much more confidence. I haven't been obsessively thinking about the past trauma and don't talk about it everyday anymore either. It does not define me anymore! It's what I endured not who I am! Having a great morning and hope you all do as well! God bless!

[TheLittleLostLamb]

In The process of getting diagnosed with c-ptsd and this makes so much sense, my health breakdowns and why therapy didn't work and mostly just hurt