Complex PTSD and Developmental Trauma Disorder

How Childhood and Relationship Trauma Can Cause Anxiety and Depression in Adults (Transcend Mediocrity, Book 126)

By: J. B. Snow

Narrated by: Ashley Huyge

Most people are familiar with PTSD. But many have not heard of complex PTSD and developmental trauma disorder. As adults, many of us experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. We feel chronically stressed. We have trouble trusting others, or we may even experience feelings of paranoia in our relationships with others. We struggle to define what it is that is bothering us, and we struggle to find ways effective ways to treat it.

Adults often seek counseling and medical attention with complaints and symptoms of physical illness, anxiety, depression, mental illness or personality disorders. Many of us fail to connect the dots from what we are experiencing today to the things that we learned and experienced as children. Our habits and memories are forming even before we begin to speak. Many people struggle to realize that the negative habits that we learned often were learned as children or adolescents from others who were poor role models to us.

The truth is that childhood neglect, abuse, and emotional trauma can affect us for a lifetime. What we are exposed to even as toddlers can literally affect how our brains develop going forward. Our experiences certainly affect and shape our habits, and many of us pick up negative habits from our parents that we are not even aware of. We learn maladaptive ways to cope with a noisy and chaotic world instead of learning positive and healthy ways to cope. We often use the coping mechanisms that our parents taught us, even if those are pornography, alcohol, sex, violence, drugs and overeating.

Many people who experience these maladaptive coping mechanisms often label themselves as feeling 'crazy' in their adulthood. They struggle to regulate their own emotions in a healthy way. They make poor decisions. They feel as though they are constantly on autopilot in their lives. They don't realize that these are all natural and human reactions to the trauma that they had gone through.

©2016 J.B. Snow (P)2016 J.B. Snow

good info

Good foundational info on PTSD and CPTSD as well as childhood trauma into adulthood etc

good story, message is "on point"!

Narrator sounds robotic which gives this a textbook feel. Alot of the points make sense and I appreciate how brief the book is. The ending chapter gives fantastic tips on reducing PTSD symptoms. Again, simple but effective.

Now what?

Great description. On point with everything. My big issue is now what? It’s like “here’s confirmation of everything that’s wrong with you. Good luck. “ No guidance. No coping skills. No offer of a path forward. Terrific start. I just think a few more chapters are needed.

This book was short, concise and to the point.

It is a reminder for the professional and a definition for the layperson. Loved it.

A Must Read, for knowing what Complex PTSD is!

I've listened to this, short (55 minutes), discription of Complex PTSD 3 times in the last 24 hours and I still find, more coalitions to what I've been through. Vary Insightful of how reoccurring trumas can build to over take, and cloud the mind, like a computer coding loop error, that requires a reboot and an edit.

Much Like an Entry in an Encyclopedia

Readers who need a thorough definition of the disorder and those looking to differentiate between PTSD and Complex PTSD will find what they’re looking for here. Anecdotally, I plan to share this book with a few friends and family members who have asked me for a “Wikipedia-like” overview of C-PTSD.

The book is succinct and accurate while doing a great job of articulating the idea that children cannot and do not withstand or understand stressful or dangerous events in the same way adults do. Adults often dismiss sibling bullying, for example, but young children are often traumatized by ongoing sibling harassment because they have no power and no control and don’t believe they will ever escape the bullying.

The book might help readers identify C-PTSD traits within themselves, but it gives a rather bleak assessment of the lives of adults with C-PTSD. I know traumatic history changes a person through and through and adults with traumatic pasts struggle to navigate life. However, it would have been nice to hear a story or two from adults who have years of therapy and self awareness under their belts.

And that leads me to why I gave this book 3 stars (although I wish I could give 2 1/2): It was half a book. I actually thought there was an app glitch and not that the book had ended. The author didn’t include stories of adults who struggled but overcame, nor did she offer any substantive suggestions for getting help. It’s like the author said, “yep. You suffered trauma and it permanently damaged you. You suck at adulting. Good luck!”

Obviously, I’m exaggerating, but I hate it when personal development books fail to offer even the most brief next steps for the reader.

Childhood abuse and trauma

With my son’s recent diagnosis of PTSD and learning about sexual abuse he endured in his teens, I thought it was important to understand what the diagnosis means and what can I do to help. He is in therapy and actively working to process his feelings. The information in this book helped me to make sense of the behaviors he exhibited after the abuse, which was like a switch that went off and his behavior changed but I never picked up on the change. I thought it was him growing up. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This book provided insight and some hope that I now need to support my son in his recovery as he moves forward in a positive way. Thanks.

Excellent

I have tried to e-mail you. Please e mail [e-mail] . Are you still writing? Thank You! Mercedes

Vital Subject Matter ...

... unfortunately, I can't comment on the totality of information included as i couldn't complete this Audible book. I'd originally struggled trying to read a printed copy as I kept falling asleep. In retrospect, I believe that speaks more to my trauma than to the book. Sadly, attempting to listen to it (even while busy with household chores) had the same effect. The reader's voice is pleasant, but she reminds me of the way I speak when asked to publically cold read a work of non-fiction. Her inflection often seems divorced from the subject matter. There are currently a number of YouTube creators who are either psychologists specializing in CPTSD or are creators who share their personal journeys as survivors with diagnoses of CPTSD. Consuming their content utilizes two of my senses, visual and auditory, and this seems to help my conscious mind remain engaged with this often difficult subject matter.

Couldn't wait to finish...torture to listen

The narration sounds like she is reading a series of several hundred bulleted items. (Which is, perhaps the case.). Her inflections often fall in the wrong place in the sentence, as if she is not comprehending, but just reading, verbatem, what is put in front of her. There is no emotion or sensitivity displayed, which seems harsh, given that the reader is probably seeking insights about a real person. It is almost "sing-song".

The content is like looking a word up in the dictionary. A no-nonsense list of possible causes, some skimpy illumination of how certain conditions might present, but only one or two. The barest of explanations. And considering the breadth of possible causes, it's a wonder that not EVERYONE has PTSD.
II found this listen to be far more annoying than enlightening. And the way she says "P-T-S-D" makes it sound even more horrible and threatening. It certainly did not make me want to hear another chapter.