Narcissistic Relationships and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)

What’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Can Narcissistic Relationships Cause PTSD?

Before we move onto “complex” post traumatic stress disorder, let’s define post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a single and specific negative event, either experienced or witnessed, which has left an individual extremely terrified and hopeless. For instance; a car accident, witnessing an earthquake or a fire, the unexpected and tragic loss of a loved one can cause PTSD. People who suffer from such events can start showing PTSD symptoms days, weeks, months and sometimes years later.

Just like not everyone who suffers from tragic things shows signs of PTSD, not all tragic events cause PTSD. PTSD occurs when the tragic event causes the individual to feel extreme fear and despair especially if their own or their loved ones’ lives were in danger. Within this context, it looks like the chances of a narcissistic relationship causing PTSD are quite low. Because although narcissistic abuse may also cause fear, terror and despair; not all narcissists are prone to physical violence.

On the other hand, we used the words “a single and specific event” while defining PTSD. However, C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is more common among war prisoners, domestic violence victims, people who were abused as a child, human trafficking victims, and overall those who were abused physically, sexually, emotionally or psychologically and systemically for a long period of time. Therefore, being exposed to the abuse coming from a narcissist, psychopath or some other emotional manipulator can very well cause a pathological and complex mental disorder such as C-PTSD.

Its Symptoms

The most distinctive symptom of PTSD; reminiscing the traumatic event or events frequently and reliving those tragic moments. This is not like just remembering a negative experience which can happen to all of us every once in a while, but more like extremely stressful and vivid flashbacks. While remembering these traumatic moments, the individual can experience the same level of fear, terror and despair as if the traumatic event is taking place once again in that very moment. The individual who’s suffering from PTSD can have frequent nightmares; they can also suffer from sleep, concentration and memory problems.

The individual can feel constantly threatened and therefore remain alert and restless. Hence, PTSD can cause the person to be easily irritated, frightened or angered. People suffering from PTSD can find it hard to control their feelings and reactions.

They can also show many signs of depression at the same time. These signs include; feeling hopeless about one’s future, isolating one’s self from others and avoiding having relationships with them, having negative thoughts about people and the world they live in, no longer enjoying the activities they used to enjoy, becoming emotionally numb or struggling with feelings like shame and guilt. People suffering from PTSD may also turn to alcohol or drugs and develop eating disorders.

Besides, the individual may avoid talking or thinking about the traumatic situation and try to stay away from the places, people or events that might remind them of their trauma.

All these symptoms we’ve mentioned above apply to both PTSD and C-PTSD. But C-PTSD differs from PTSD in terms of perpetrator perception. The person suffering from C-PTSD can constantly and obsessively think about the person who abused them, idealize them in their minds and try to rationalize the abuse they went through in an attempt to justify the abuser’s action because they have some sympathy for the abuser (see: Stockholm Syndrome), or on the contrary; they can be yearning for vengeance.

The Treatment