What are the 17 Symptoms of Complex PTSD?

Get to Know the Common Signs of CPTSD and How to Get Help

Throughout most of my adult life, I didn’t know there was a name for what I was going through. I thought I was just broken. That maybe I was born wrong or wired differently. But over time, as I unraveled the layers of my story in recovery, I realized I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t hopeless.

What I was living with had a name: complex PTSD, or C-PTSD, as it’s often called.

My recovery didn’t start with a diagnosis. It started with desperation. Substance abuse had become my coping mechanism. When you’re drowning in traumatic stress, drugs and alcohol can feel like a life raft. But that life raft slowly sinks. And mine did spectacularly. I lost jobs, relationships, and nearly my life before I finally got help.

I ended up at a treatment center that specialized in co-occurring disorders. That’s when I first heard someone say the words “complex post traumatic stress.” I’d heard of post traumatic stress disorder, but I didn’t know there was a more layered, more entrenched version of it. Turns out, there is. And I checked every single box.

While there is not a clinically defined answer to ‘What are the 17 symptoms of complex PTSD?,” there are seventeen of the most common CPTSD symptoms listed below, so keep reading to get then all.

And through the process of learning more about it, you may find things you relate to. As you read on, keep in mind that help is a phone call away.

The 17 Symptoms of Complex PTSD That Are Most Commonly Found

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The main difference between PTSD and complex PTSD is clearly defined.

According to PTSD.gov, “Complex PTSD includes [the symptoms of PTSD] but also requires additional symptoms like difficulty with managing emotions, feeling worthless, and withdrawing or feeling distant from others.

If you’re wondering what are the 17 symptoms of complex PTSD, I can tell you that they show up in every part of your life. Here’s what I’ve experienced, and what many others face too:

1. Emotional flashbacks.
2. Toxic shame.
3. Self-abandonment.
4. A harsh inner critic.
5. Social anxiety.
6. Hypervigilance.
7. Difficulty with trust.
8. Difficulty feeling safe.
9. Emotional numbness.
10. Dissociation.
11. Chronic guilt.
12. Rage or intense anger.
13. Fear of intimacy.
14. Depression and hopelessness.
15. Suicidal thoughts.
16. Somatic or physical symptoms.
17. Addictive behaviors

These symptoms are more than just signs of a mental health condition. They are responses to repeated traumatic experiences and childhood abuse. They are how a brain and body adapt to survive.

One thing I learned in therapy was that C-PTSD often overlaps with other diagnoses. I was also told I had borderline personality disorder, which made a lot of sense in hindsight. My emotional reactions, impulsivity, and identity issues weren’t just personality quirks. They were symptoms rooted in trauma.

A Childhood Shaped by Repeated Trauma

A lot of people think PTSD symptoms come from a single traumatic event. Something like a car crash or a violent attack. And for many, that’s true. But complex PTSD comes from something different. It comes from prolonged or repeated trauma. My story was a textbook case.

I grew up in a house where physical abuse was a regular occurrence. Not just the occasional slap, but full-blown, bruises-on-my-ribs type of abuse. There was also sexual abuse at the hands of a family friend, something I didn’t talk about for decades. Add to that the emotional manipulation, the gaslighting, and chaos, and I wasn’t just dealing with a single traumatic event. I was surviving chronic trauma, day after day, year after year.

And like many others, I developed symptoms of complex PTSD without knowing what they were. Hypervigilance. Dissociation. Intense emotional reactions that seemed way out of proportion to the situation. Nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks. I didn’t realize these were all classic C-PTSD symptoms because they were just my normal.

The Role of Trauma-Focused Therapy in Recovery

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When I first got clean, I thought quitting drugs would be the hard part. But it turns out, dealing with the traumatic memories was the real mountain to climb. I couldn’t stay sober if I didn’t learn how to navigate the emotional regulation issues that C-PTSD brings.

I was lucky to work with some incredible mental health professionals at Icarus Recovery Center. They helped me unpack the layers of my pain. They introduced me to trauma focused therapy, and more specifically, dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive processing therapy. Both helped me make sense of the chaos in my head.

Another thing that changed my life was eye movement desensitization, also known as EMDR. It sounds like pseudoscience when you first hear about it, but it helped me reprocess traumatic stress in a way that nothing else had. I also tried exposure therapy, which was terrifying at first but ultimately empowering. I learned that facing my memories didn’t have to destroy me.

The Weight of Complex Trauma

With my complex PTSD, the more I worked on myself, the more I realized just how much of my adult life had been shaped by complex trauma. From the way I avoided intimacy to the way I self-sabotaged every time something good came along. My entire worldview was based on fear and distrust.

I carried the impact of prolonged trauma in my body too. Chronic pain, fatigue, and gut issues. My body had been holding onto what my mind couldn’t process. This is something that people rarely talk about, but medical trauma and psychosomatic responses are real. You don’t just remember trauma; you live it, physically and emotionally.

Coming to Terms with My Past

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Coming to terms with my past meant admitting how deeply I had been wounded. It meant looking at my symptoms of complex PTSD not as flaws, but as survival strategies. The hypervigilance? That kept me alive in a dangerous home. The dissociation? That was how I escaped when I couldn’t physically leave.

But understanding those things didn’t magically make them go away. Recovery, for me, has been about learning new ways to live. About choosing relationships that don’t reenact my trauma. About slowly letting go of the belief that I’m unworthy of love.

There’s still pain. There are days where my C-PTSD feels like a boulder on my chest. But I don’t pick up a drink or a drug anymore. I have tools now. I have support. I have a voice.

Rebuilding Mental Well-Being

One of the biggest things I’ve had to work on is my mental well-being. That means sleep, boundaries, nutrition, and connection. It means understanding that I’m not lazy, I’m healing. That self-care isn’t selfish. That I don’t need to carry the weight of the world to be valuable.

Recovery also meant talking openly about the things that once silenced me. Like sexual assault, human trafficking, and childhood abuse. These aren’t just headlines or statistics. They are real things that happened to real people. People like me. And pretending otherwise only makes the shame worse.

I had to learn that healing is not linear. Some days I take three steps forward, and then fall flat on my face. But every time I get back up, I prove to myself that I’m not the person I used to be. I’m not just a victim of traumatic stress. I’m someone who survived it. Who’s learning to live beyond it.

The Ongoing Journey

These days, I still have flashbacks. I still get triggered. But I also have joy. I have calm. I have hope. I’ve reconnected with my creativity, with my body, with the part of me that never gave up.

Living with C-PTSD is not easy. It’s exhausting at times. But it’s also made me more empathetic, more resilient, more real. And as much as I wouldn’t wish my past on anyone, I wouldn’t erase it either. Because it’s part of the story that made me who I am.

If you’re reading this and you recognize yourself in my words, just know you’re not alone. There’s a way out of the darkness. And it starts with saying, “I need help” and reaching out.

Seeking Complex PTSD Treatment

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If you’re living with C-PTSD, please hear this: it is not your fault. You are not broken beyond repair. There is help, and you deserve to receive it. Complex PTSD treatment may look different for everyone, but it can include talk therapy, EMDR, somatic experiencing, group therapy, medication, or all of the above.

What worked for me was a combination of treatments. I needed to learn how to treat PTSD, but also how to reconnect with my own body and mind. Therapy gave me the foundation, but community gave me the strength. Being around others who understood complex PTSD symptoms, who weren’t scared off by my intensity, made all the difference.

If you’re asking yourself whether your pain “counts,” stop. If you’ve experienced trauma, if you’ve lived through repeated traumatic experiences, then you count. Your suffering is valid. And so is your healing.

Getting Help at Icarus Recovery Center in New Mexico

Getting real help was the turning point in my life. If you’re struggling with complex PTSD, substance abuse, or both, I can’t recommend treatment enough. Places like Icarus Recovery Center aren’t just about getting you sober.

They’re about helping you understand the roots of your pain, and giving you the tools to build something better from the ashes. I came in feeling like I was beyond saving, but the team there met me with compassion, not judgment. They saw me when I couldn’t even see myself.

Icarus Recovery Center specializes in treating C-PTSD, addiction, and co-occurring disorders with real evidence-based approaches. Their program includes treatments such as dialectical behavior therapy, trauma focused therapy, and eye movement desensitization (EMDR).

They helped me make sense of a life that felt shattered. If you’re ready to stop surviving and start truly living, reach out. You don’t have to keep doing this alone. Let Icarus Recovery Center help you rise.