Two Topics Suggested by You, My Readers

Today when I checked the list of search terms that have drawn readers to my blog, I found two that I feel need to be addressed right now:  1. Complex PTSD and addiction; 2.  Complex PTSD and lifelong abuse.  I am not a mental health professional, so I have asked several clinical psychologists for information regarding topic #1.  Regarding topic #2, I can speak to that topic from my own experience and from general information gathered during my own journey toward healing.

Topic #1:  Complex PTSD and addiction

I must assume here that the person who typed this search term into his or her computer wanted information on what can be done to facilitate healing for somebody who has a substance addiction combined with C-PTSD.  Because I do not have the above dual diagnosis, I asked a couple of psychologists about this.  Here is the information I received:

There seem to be two ways of dealing with this dual condition.  One way is to say that the addiction must be treated before tackling the C-PTSD, the reason given being that the addiction may interfere with the therapeutic process used to treat the C-PTSD. 

 The professionals holding the other view seem to believe that the addiction and the C-PTSD should be treated concurrently because the two problems are intertwined to the point of being inseparable.  This is all the information I have on the topic, but here are some links that may help if you want more information:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/ptsd101/course-modules/SUD.asp

http://www.sidran.org/sub.cfm?sectionID=5

http://www.outofthefog.net/Search.html?sa=Search+Out+of+the+FOG&cx=013931066222856585801%3A54yeted2nfo&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=c-ptsd+and+substance+abuse&siteurl=outofthefog.net%2FDisorders%2FCPTSD.html&ref=www.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26frm%3D1%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D4%26sqi%3D2%26ved%3D0CFkQFjAD%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Foutofthefog.net%252FDisorders%252FCPTSD.html%26ei%3De28RUfSHEOaZiALguYHgDA%26usg%3DAFQjCNGgfmHINRBB9Q0tl9vHEM3XBILl7g%26sig2%3Deqh-n9cRGDqmbDUh0JZbRw&ss=6584j3890372j26

In addition to the above links, you may need to do more searching until you find the information you want.  Also, you may find more information and find it sooner if you simply visit a local mental health clinic and ask questions.  Sorry I can't be more helpful on this, but my best wishes go with you if you are trying to find help. 

You CAN heal if you have this dual problem--remember that!  Finding a competent, skilled therapist with whom you are comfortable is the number one priority!  You may need to interview a lot of therapists before you choose one, but take the time to do this.  I lost a lot of time in my own work because I let myself be intimidated by incompetent therapists.  Your therapist will become an extremely important person in your life if you are trying to heal your C-PTSD and simultaneously kick an addiction, so take your time in choosing him or her.  If you are a woman who is emerging from an abusive marriage and you have been repeatedly victimized, you need to be especially careful that you do not let yourself be bullied by a therapist.  It can happen!  I know because it happened to me.  Don't let it happen to you!  More on this topic coming to this blog soon! 

Topic #2:  Complex PTSD and lifelong abuse:

If you have been reading my blog entries and/or my website www.jfairgrieve.com, you know something about my story.  I'm almost 74 years old, and for the first 40 of those years, I was a victim of abuse--child abuse first, followed by spousal abuse.  Yes, often people who have been abused as children marry an abuser.  In a few of my blog entries, I have recounted how I ended the victimizing of my children and also my own victimization by my former husband.  You will also find information on this topic on my website listed above. 

I can only assume that the searcher who typed "complex PTSD and lifelong abuse" into the search engine was looking for help or for information that would give him or her an idea as to where to begin the process of looking for help.  Or maybe the person was trying to find out what the future might hold for a victim of lifelong abuse. 

I'll address the concerns above simply by saying that complex PTSD resulting from lifelong abuse can be healed!  I'm doing it!  Granted, my life of abuse ended in 1981 when I reported my former husband for child abuse and ended my marriage.  Some thirty years have gone by since then, thirty years in which I have not been abused and in which I marked time, trying to find a therapist who could pick up from where I stopped therapy with an excellent therapist in 1983.  That therapist retired, and it took me from 1983 until I found my present therapist in 2010 to find a practitioner with whom I felt comfortable and who had the skills I needed to resume the healing process. 

 Keep in mind that I did not spend the entire intervening thirty years trying to heal from C-PTSD.  After I finished raising my daughter, I went to school and then taught in a community college.  Healing my C-PTSD was not at the top of my list of things to do.  In fact, I did not even know I HAD the disorder called C-PTSD during that time.  I did, however, have symptoms that bothered me and made my life more difficult than it needed to be.  Those symptoms were the usual symptoms of C-PTSD as listed on my website and which may be familiar to you.  I saw something like 14 therapists during those years, and only one of them knew what my underlying problem was and was truly qualified to help me.  Unfortunately, he left the area shortly after I began seeing him. Most of the other therapists wanted to help me and were very nice people; a couple, however, were the "therapists from hell," and at times I vowed never to step into a therapist's office again.  However, I persevered, and I'm glad I did, for now I've been working with a person who truly is competent in treating trauma victims and with whom I'm comfortable.  As you know if you have been reading my posts, I'm healing.

So to the person who typed "complex PTSD and lifelong abuse" into the search engine, I say, "Hang in there!  Find a competent therapist you like, a therapist who knows how to help trauma victims, and start your journey toward healing."  Now is the time to begin!  Don't wait!  The sooner you begin, the more life you will have left after you have begun to heal.  

Remember these words of wisdom from our old friend Anonymous: 

Anything unattempted remains impossible.