Not an Overreaction: The Complex Trauma Response
Are you experiencing a significant stress response that seems way out of proportion to the event that seemed to precipitate it?
Do you have ongoing symptoms of severe stress that you can’t really understand or logically explain?
Is there something from your past that you’re struggling to get over?
You may be experiencing C-PTSD.
KEY INSIGHTS
C-PTSD or Complex PTSD can occur as a result of experiencing chronic trauma. This may include child abuse (including emotional abuse or neglect), domestic violence, bullying, or other traumatic events occurring repeatedly over time.
The stress response associated with complex trauma arises from changes in the brain, not personal weakness. This may include (but is not limited to) anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks, detachment, and hypervigilance.
C-PTSD can be effectively treated by a clinically trained and experienced trauma psychologist. For some people, medication may also support recovery.
Consider this scenario: Anna is enjoying a phone call with Leo, a close family member, and all is going smoothly. Then she says something Leo disagrees with, and the tone of the conversation shifts abruptly. What was a warm exchange quickly becomes cold, critical, or emotionally aggressive. Leo hangs up on her, and based on their history, Anna anticipates some form of emotional punishment or prolonged withdrawal before he reconnects.
Although Anna knows logically that she has done nothing wrong — and that Leo's reaction is disproportionate — her body and emotions respond as if she is under serious threat. In the hours and days that follow, she experiences persistent distress: tearfulness, anxiety, insomnia, physical tension, self-blame, and even vivid memories or flashbacks of past interactions with Leo.
This is a common example of how a complex trauma response may present — particularly in relationships where there has been a pattern of emotional unpredictability, coercion, or invalidation over time.
Most people hear the term “PTSD” (aka post-traumatic stress disorder) and assume it always arises as a result of experiencing a single or short-term traumatic event such as interpersonal violence, war, a serious motor vehicle accident, or a natural disaster. There is another type of trauma response, however, that is less well-known yet just as damaging for the person experiencing it: complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or C-PTSD.
What is Complex PTSD?
Complex PTSD (also known as C-PTSD, CPTSD, or cPTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after going through long-term or repeated trauma, particularly when that trauma involves feeling powerless, unsafe, or emotionally unsupported.
While it shares some symptoms with PTSD, C-PTSD usually results from ongoing trauma over time, such as in difficult childhood environments, emotionally abusive relationships, or other repeated or prolonged experiences of stress or threat.
Some symptoms can also overlap with other conditions like Borderline Personality Disorder, but C-PTSD is a separate condition, with its own causes and treatment approaches.
Estimates suggest that Complex PTSD may affect up to 8% of the global population — though it often goes undiagnosed[¹].
What is Complex Trauma?
Complex trauma refers to exposure to repeated or ongoing distressing experiences, especially where there is little control, safety, or emotional support. It often begins in childhood, but it can also develop later in life. Anyone — at any age — can be impacted by complex trauma.
These experiences may change how the brain responds to stress. Trauma can affect the parts of the brain involved in emotion regulation, memory, learning, and how we manage relationships or make decisions.
Examples of experiences that may contribute to complex trauma include:
Physical or sexual abuse in childhood
Long-term domestic or family violence
Repeated emotional abuse or neglect
Chronic bullying (at home, school, socially, or at work)
Witnessing frightening or overwhelming events (e.g. emergency services workers)
Medical trauma (such as serious illness or repeated invasive treatment)
Living with chronic pain, disability, or birth-related trauma
Experiencing or witnessing events such as displacement, slavery, genocide, torture, or trafficking
What are the symptoms of C-PTSD?
People living with C-PTSD may experience a wide range of emotional, physical, and psychological symptoms.
These can include:
Chronic anxiety and/or panic attacks
Sleep disturbances, insomnia, or nightmares
Flashbacks or intrusive thoughts
Persistent sadness or irritability
Feelings of failure/shame/guilt/hopelessness/worthlessness
Negative thinking and emotions, including self-blame
Situational avoidance
Hypervigilance/excessive attention to the possibility of “danger”
Heightened emotional response (“overreacting”)
Difficulty with emotional regulation
Issues with identity and sense of self
A sense of detachment from oneself or the world.
Relationship difficulties
The symptoms of C-PTSD can significantly impact your daily life and may even impinge upon your physical health, work, learning, and social life.
But with the right support, healing is possible.
Take the First Step Toward Recovery
If you're living with the effects of complex trauma or C-PTSD, you're not alone — and things can get better.
At Reach Psychology, we offer compassionate, evidence-based therapy to help you understand your trauma, reduce your symptoms, and begin to feel more secure and empowered in your life. Our trauma psychologist provides support both in-person in Melbourne Bayside (near Brighton and Hampton), and via Telehealth if that feels safer or more accessible for you.
Your past may have shaped you, but it doesn’t have to define you.
With the right support, it’s possible to reclaim a sense of calm, clarity, and connection.