 There has been a huge decline in mental health around the world, which is why we're so committed to creating more content than we ever have. Thank you so much for being a part of our journey. Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back to another video to help you gain knowledge and spread awareness on different mental health conditions. Today, we are discussing post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. When you hear PTSD, what do you think of? A soldier? A victim of a crime? The American Psychiatric Association defines PTSD as a psychiatric disorder that may occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. But did you know that there are different types of PTSD? Traditional PTSD is when someone experiences a single traumatic event that causes post-traumatic stress. According to medical news today, only 7% of those in U.S. will be affected by traditional PTSD at some point in their lives. Have you heard of complex post-traumatic stress disorder? C-PTSD. The World Health Organization Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse conducted a study in 2016 that discovered the distinction between PTSD and C-PTSD. Let's jump into five signs it's C-PTSD, not PTSD. Number one, you notice feelings of trauma coming up more frequently. The main differences between PTSD and C-PTSD is how often we feel stress from the traumatic event we experienced. PTSD is typically a one-time traumatic event that will cause stressful feelings that subside within a few days. C-PTSD is either trauma from a series of events or a prolonged event. Let's say you were in a car accident. If you feel trauma after that event and it goes away, we might assume this is traditional PTSD. But what if you feel nervous and anxious about getting into a car a long time after this accident? Even five years after the accident, you still won't drive. This can be categorized as C-PTSD. C-PTSD can also include reliving the event through flashbacks or nightmares, bringing on these stressful feelings. The frequency of these episodes increase can be the main indicator of C-PTSD. Number two, you have difficulty controlling your emotions. When someone has traditional PTSD, the effects are short-lived. But C-PTSD is a diagnosis that involves an extended period of feeling stress and trauma stemming from a series of events. With a longer time frame comes more severe symptoms. On top of feeling the stress of the event, an individual with C-PTSD may also have difficulty controlling their emotions. Let's take that same car accident for example. You may feel stressed even getting into a car, let alone driving the car. If a friend suggests carpooling to lunch, you may react by getting very angry and yelling at them. You might start to cry because the thought of being stuck in a car is too overwhelming for you. These strong emotions paired with a traumatic event can be a sign of C-PTSD. Number three, huh? What? Were you saying something? Have you ever been in the middle of something and completely spaced out? Maybe you were driving home from the store and then bam, all of a sudden you're home. This phenomenon is called dissociation. Dissociation is when our brains lack continuity. You can separate yourself from your thoughts, surroundings and even emotions and it's a common coping mechanism when we have incredibly overwhelming feelings and don't wish to be present to feel them anymore. Dissociation is another symptom specific to C-PTSD due to how long you feel the stress. So let's go back to the example of your friend suggesting to carpool to lunch. When the friend asks, you may begin feeling all of those negative emotions bubbling up. At that point, you may notice that you black out or dissociate to stop feeling like this. If you also take the car ride, you may dissociate during the car ride to keep yourself from having an emotional outburst. Number four, you feel physical symptoms when you are reminded of your past trauma. Have you ever been listening to someone telling a story and they describe something that makes you sick to your stomach? The brain is a powerful organ that holds on to a lot of information including what you feel, how you feel and when you feel it. So back to the car example. Say you're recounting your traumatic car accident with a mental health professional. Even though you're safe with the therapist in an office or the comfort of your own home and not in a car, you may start to feel physical symptoms that come with anxiety. These symptoms can include nausea, dizziness or pain in your stomach. This is because your brain remembers. Having these feelings come back up when simply remembering trauma can be a CPTSD sign. And number five, you avoid your trauma triggers at all possible costs. When you know what sets off a mental or physical health concern, most of us are inclined to avoid that trigger. Someone experiencing CPTSD for a length of time may feel so tired of the stress or other symptoms that they're feeling and they may also be sick of letting their emotions get the better of them. So what do they do? They avoid the trigger at all costs. Do cars make you nervous? Okay, you can use public transportation to meet friends or invite them to your home for a friend's night in. Someone asks you to run a quick errand for them. You can politely make an excuse that you are stuck at the office. Someone suffering from CPTSD might feel the need to control their situation to feel like they're in control of themselves. Did any of these signs shock you? Were you surprised at the different types of PTSD? Leave a comment down below to let us know. Experiencing a traumatic event is awful, but reliving it can be just as difficult. If you or a loved one has experienced any of these signs, please reach out to a trusted mental health professional to explore more. If you enjoyed this, please share this video with others who might benefit. As always, the references and studies used are listed in the description below. Until next time, friends, take care and thanks for watching.