Most people will experience at least one traumatic event during their lifetime. These experiences can cause severe negative effects on a person’s mental and physical health and can alter their lives for months or years.
Trauma can leave lasting marks that aren’t always visible. Some people find themselves reliving a single moment that changed everything, while others carry the weight of pain that built up slowly over years. In both cases, the mind and body continue to respond as if the danger never ended, even when life moves on.
For many, this ongoing sense of unease can be confusing and isolating. They may wonder why certain memories feel so vivid, why trust feels fragile, or why calm never seems to last. These experiences can take different forms depending on how and when the trauma occurred, and understanding those differences can be a powerful step toward healing.
As we explore the relationship between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD (CPTSD), it’s not about comparing struggles — it’s about recognizing the unique ways trauma shapes people’s lives and what recovery can look like for each.
What is PTSD?
PTSD is a mental health disorder that develops in response to a traumatic event—an experience that involves violence, serious injury, or the threat of death.
Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event develops post-traumatic stress disorder. An estimated 6% of people in the U.S. will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. About 5% of the U.S. population, or 13 million people, have PTSD within a given year.
PTSD causes distressing symptoms that last for at least one month. These symptoms cause significant negative effects on a person’s relationships, social and professional functioning, and day-to-day living.
What is CPTSD?
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health disorder that occurs in response to chronic or prolonged trauma. Like PTSD, CPTSD causes significant negative symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to function in daily life. Based on a combination of results from multiple studies, researchers estimate that about 6.2% of people worldwide meet the criteria for CPTSD.
How CPTSD Is Classified
In the DSM-5 (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition), CPTSD is not categorized as an individual diagnosis. However, the DSM-5 does recognize a dissociative subtype of PTSD that encompasses many of the symptoms of CPTSD.
The ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision), which is approved by the World Health Organization and used by the United Nations System, lists CPTSD as a distinct condition with unique symptoms.
PTSD vs. CPTSD: The Core Difference
PTSD usually develops after a single traumatic event — like a serious accident, assault, or natural disaster — while CPTSD results from repeated or ongoing trauma over time, such as chronic abuse, neglect, or captivity.
The main distinction lies in duration and type of trauma:
- PTSD: Triggered by one isolated or short-term traumatic event.
- CPTSD: Develops after prolonged, inescapable trauma that often involves emotional or physical harm from someone the person depended on.
Causes of PTSD vs. CPTSD
While both PTSD and CPTSD stem from traumatic experiences, the type, duration, and environment of that trauma shape how each disorder develops.
Duration of Trauma
PTSD can result from a singular traumatic event, like a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, witnessing an act of violence, or experiencing an assault. It can also result from a prolonged traumatic experience, like military combat.
Complex PTSD arises from repetitive, inescapable trauma that causes a person to feel distressed, unsafe, or at risk of violence for an extended period of time.
Examples of chronic trauma that can cause CPTSD include:
- Repeated childhood trauma, like neglect or abandonment
- Ongoing physical, emotional, or sexual abuse
- Ongoing domestic violence
- Torture, kidnapping, or slavery
- Being held in captivity
- Being a refugee or asylum seeker
- Being a victim of human trafficking
- Being a prisoner of war
People with PTSD often describe feeling haunted by what happened; unable to stop reliving the moment, or unable to feel safe in situations that used to feel normal.
Examples of traumatic events that can cause PTSD include:
- Serious car accidents or other life-threatening injuries
- Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, or fires
- Physical or sexual assault
- Witnessing a violent crime or death
- Sudden or unexpected loss of a loved one
- Military combat or exposure to war
- Experiencing a medical emergency or invasive surgery
- Being threatened with a weapon or held at gunpoint
- Surviving a terrorist attack or mass shooting
- Experiencing or witnessing workplace accidents or explosions
Because the trauma is ongoing, CPTSD can erode a person’s sense of identity and safety, affecting how they relate to others and themselves.
Symptoms of PTSD and CPTSD: How They Overlap and Differ
Both conditions stem from trauma that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope, leaving them in survival mode long after the danger has passed. They share many core symptoms, but their effects can manifest differently.
PTSD Symptoms
PTSD symptoms usually center on reliving the event and struggling to feel safe afterward. The body remains on high alert, and the mind can get stuck replaying what happened.
Common PTSD symptoms include:
- Flashbacks or distressing memories
- Nightmares or sleep disturbances
- Hypervigilance or exaggerated startle response
- Avoidance of reminders or conversations about the trauma
- Guilt, shame, or emotional numbness
These symptoms often lead to avoidance cycles, where people isolate themselves or avoid triggers to escape distress, but this can reinforce fear and make healing harder. With the right treatment, the brain can begin to process what happened, and PTSD symptoms will gradually lessen or even go away over time.
CPTSD Symptoms
CPTSD includes all of the above but also affects emotional regulation and self-identity. Because the trauma is prolonged and often tied to betrayal or dependency, it can reshape how a person experiences themselves and others.
Additional CPTSD symptoms may include:
- Persistent feelings of emptiness or hopelessness
- Difficulty regulating emotions
- Negative self-image or chronic shame
- Trouble trusting or connecting with others
- Dissociation or feeling detached from reality
- Intense fear of abandonment
While PTSD can make life feel unsafe, CPTSD can make the self feel unsafe — as though something is wrong inside that can’t be fixed. Treatment focuses on rebuilding trust, self-worth, and stability after long-term harm.
Can You Have Both PTSD and CPTSD?
After learning how PTSD and CPTSD symptoms overlap, it’s natural to wonder if someone can have both conditions. In most cases, the answer is no. CPTSD already includes the symptoms of PTSD, along with additional effects that come from long-term or repeated trauma. Because of that, a person would typically be diagnosed with one or the other — not both.
Can Your Diagnosis Change?
Sometimes, a person is first diagnosed with PTSD and later reassessed for CPTSD as deeper patterns become clearer in therapy. This can happen when ongoing symptoms suggest that the trauma’s effects run beyond the initial event, especially if it involved chronic fear, control, or abuse.
Recognizing whether symptoms align more closely with PTSD or CPTSD helps clinicians tailor treatment to meet the person’s specific needs — whether that means focusing on processing a single event or rebuilding a sense of safety and trust after years of harm.
Treatment for PTSD and CPTSD
Recovering from trauma takes time, patience, and the right combination of professional care and personal support. While PTSD and CPTSD share many treatment approaches, recovery often looks different for each person depending on the type and duration of their trauma. The most effective plans typically combine therapy, medication, lifestyle adjustments, and strong social support — all working together to help the person regain safety, stability, and confidence in daily life.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is one of the primary treatment approaches for both PTSD and CPTSD. Therapy is vital for trauma recovery because it provides a safe space to process trauma, challenge harmful self-perceptions, and develop coping skills and strategies needed to manage negative emotions and stress. In psychotherapy, expect treatment methods like dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Medication
Medication is often an important component of trauma recovery. Medications like antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are useful for managing or alleviating symptoms while working through trauma and developing stress management and coping skills in therapy.
Self-Care
Self-care practices such as rest, mindfulness, exercise, spending time in nature, journaling, and creative expression can also help with trauma recovery. These activities provide a way to decompress and offer a safe avenue for self-expression while helping alleviate certain physical and emotional symptoms.
Social Support
Building a social support network is a critical part of treating PTSD and CPTSD. Trying to overcome these painful memories on your own is nearly impossible. People need love, care, and support from friends and family members while they heal and rebuild their sense of well-being and safety during trauma recovery.
Is Recovery Different for PTSD vs. CPTSD?
While PTSD and CPTSD often respond to similar treatments, the healing journey tends to look different. PTSD recovery focuses on helping someone feel safe again after a specific event, while CPTSD recovery involves slowly rebuilding a sense of trust, identity, and connection that long-term trauma can erode.
PTSD Recovery: Relearning Safety and Control
For people with PTSD, recovery usually centers on processing a single traumatic experience and helping the brain recognize that the threat is no longer present. Therapy focuses on easing flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance behaviors while teaching the body to relax and feel safe again.
Over time, the goal is to reduce fear-based responses and rebuild a sense of confidence and control in daily life. As symptoms lessen, people often find it easier to re-engage with work, relationships, and normal routines without feeling constantly on edge.
CPTSD Recovery: Rebuilding Trust and Self-Worth
CPTSD recovery can be more gradual because the trauma often developed over years — sometimes beginning in childhood. The focus goes beyond managing triggers; it’s about reconnecting with one’s emotions and sense of self after long periods of instability or fear.
Therapy may begin with stabilizing emotional regulation, setting boundaries, and building trust in the therapeutic relationship before exploring traumatic memories in depth. This step-by-step approach helps rebuild the foundations of safety and identity that prolonged trauma can damage.
Healing from CPTSD often involves learning new ways to experience relationships, process emotions, and develop self-compassion — all of which take time and consistency.
You Don’t Have to Live in Survival Mode — Get Help for PTSD
If you or someone you care about is struggling with the effects of trauma, you don’t have to face it alone. At Clearview Treatment Programs, we offer comprehensive PTSD treatment designed to help clients process trauma safely, manage symptoms, and begin rebuilding a sense of security and self-trust.
Through evidence-based therapies, personalized support, and compassionate care, our team helps clients regain balance, confidence, and connection in daily life.
To learn more about our PTSD treatment programs or to take the first step toward healing, please call us or reach out to one of our locations today.
