Did you know there are 17 symptoms of complex PTSD? This complicated mental health disorder causes several types of thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. This can overwhelm the person who has it and make them assume effective and lasting treatment is not available for them.
Montare Outpatient offers comprehensive care programs for people who have complex PTSD. We understand how to help them identify the symptoms and work to disarm their power. With our help, anyone with complex PTSD can put their ghosts to rest and enjoy improved mental health.
Understanding Complex PTSD
Most people are familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder but may not have heard about complex PTSD. Complex PTSD occurs when someone undergoes a traumatic event more than one time. For example, someone with PTSD might have experienced a singular physical attack or survived a hurricane. In contrast, someone else with complex PTSD may have endured several acts of violence or aggressive military actions.
What Are the 17 Symptoms of Complex PTSD?
Someone who has complex PTSD will exhibit evidence of what they are going through. It’s important to pay attention to the signs whether you are the one having them or you witness a loved one having them. The 17 symptoms of complex PTSD:
1. Feeling Angry
People with complex PTSD often find themselves feeling angry and irritable. They may act out in anger without provocation or understanding why they feel so mad.
2. Memory Loss
When someone has undergone traumatic events, their brain often attempts to protect them by engaging in memory loss. The memories may come back later on but, for now, keeping them buried helps the person feel safer.
3. Trouble Concentrating
People with complex PTSD often have cognitive difficulties. They have trouble concentrating on tasks or conversations, affecting their ability to do well at work or school.
4. Flashbacks
One of the most painful symptoms of complex PTSD is having flashbacks. Flashbacks cause a person to feel as if they’ve been transported back to the traumatic events and are going through them again. For example, hearing fireworks on the Fourth of July can cause a veteran to feel they have gone back in time to their military service.
5. Intrusive Thoughts
Despite a person’s attempts to stop them, intrusive and recurring thoughts often flood their mind. They usually involve the trauma they endured and can happen when they are in a situation that reminds them of it. The thoughts can also happen with no triggers. Unlike flashbacks, the individual understands that the intrusive thoughts are not actually happening to them in the moment.
6. Having Nightmares
Nightmares are a common symptom of complex PTSD. The traumatic events have embedded themselves in the person’s memory and subconscious and often come out in the form of vivid and frightening nightmares.
7. Difficulty Sleeping
People with complex PTSD often lack the ability to reach a state of being ready to rest comfortably. They may fear they will become in danger if they fall asleep or they are trying to prevent more nightmares from occurring.
8. Engaging in Risky Behaviors
Trauma can cause people to ignore warning signs about the danger of risky behaviors. They may do something potentially dangerous for the thrill of it or as an attempt to soothe the symptoms of complex PTSD. Risky acts include engaging in unsafe sex, driving recklessly, gambling, and abusing drugs or alcohol.
9. Poor Self-Esteem
Trauma often causes a person to feel they have no worth because if they did, they would not have suffered through traumatic events. They have difficulty accepting compliments or believing that they have value and a bright future ahead of them.
10. Constant Feelings of Negativity
Even when someone with complex PTSD has a reason to feel happy, they often cannot access the emotions. Things like having a birthday or getting a raise at work do not buoy their feelings because their default setting has become negative.
11. Isolating From Others
Trauma causes people to shut down and avoid interacting with others whenever possible. They may have trouble enjoying the give-and-take of a relationship or fear the other person may hurt them.
12. Avoidant Behaviors
The individual will go to extremes to avoid locations, events, or people who remind them of the trauma they endured.
13. Not Engaging in Activities That May Trigger Bad Memories
Certain activities can be fluent reminders of past trauma. For example, if someone was injured in a shopping mall, they will likely avoid going to one. A veteran often avoids playing military-themed video games or watching war films.
14. No Longer Having Hobbies and Pastimes
Someone who used to love to participate in hobbies like sports, exercise, community gatherings, and more finds themselves unable to muster enthusiasm for them. They often stop participating in them completely.
15. Constant Hypervigilance
The fear of falling victim to another traumatic situation causes the person to operate on a consistent level of hypervigilance. They try to anticipate any event that will trigger or harm them and avoid it happening.
16. Easily Startled
The person reacts with great surprise or shock over events that don’t easily startle other people.
17. The Blame Game
The individual often unfairly blames themselves or someone else for what happened to them.
Key Facts about Complex PTSD
One of the key facts about complex PTSD is that people who have it exhibit 17 symptoms. Other things to know about it include:
- Approximately 6 out of 100 people in the U.S. will develop PTSD during their lifetimes.
- It can be difficult to know exactly how many people have complex PTSD because they may not recognize they have it.
- With the right treatment program, people can recover fully from complex PTSD.
- Veterans have PTSD more often than civilians. Those veterans deployed in war zones develop PTSD more often than those not deployed to them.
Contact Montare Outpatient Treatment Center in Los Angeles, CA
If you recognize yourself in the 17 symptoms of complex PTSD, you need to find a professional treatment plan structured to meet your individual needs. Montare Behavioral Health Outpatient created a warm and comfortable outpatient environment for people who struggle with complex PTSD. Our therapists use their years of experience and passion for treating mental health disorders to help people overcome PTSD. We use a variety of different therapy modalities that help people open up and discuss their issues and emotions. From there, recovery begins.
Contact us today to get more information on starting an outpatient program to help you overcome complex PTSD for good. The new life you deserve is waiting for you.
Published: 3/11/2025
