Chronic & Complex Trauma

A chronic complex trauma survivor is often seen as a chronic invalid who undergoes multiple medical or psychiatric problems. Chronic complex trauma survivors are re-traumatized through the medical system, medication effects, and further traumatizing interventions.

​

It is common for chronic complex trauma survivors to experience intrusive memories of abuse that they may not be able to distinguish from current reality. Psychiatric medications can cause amnesia, depersonalization/derealization, nightmares, insomnia, impulsivity, rage episodes, suicidal ideation/ gestures/attempts/completions, panic attacks, and distrust of others. All these issues are triggers for chronic complex trauma survivors which cause them to feel more unsafe in the world. Reactivation of traumatic memories and impulsive behaviour can cause chronic complex trauma survivors to seek help from the medical system.

​

Chronic complex traumas survivors often fear doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers. They may be diagnosed with "anxiety", "depression", or even chronic fatigue syndrome if their fears interfere with making appointments or actually going to those appointments. When chronic complex trauma survivors go to the doctor they may have such things as flashbacks, dissociation episodes, panic attacks, rage episodes, impulsivity causing them to lash out at staff members including doctors and nurses, a phobia that prevents them from getting necessary medical care (such as fear of hospitals) or chronic pain syndromes.

​

Chronic complex trauma survivors often face disbelief from medical professionals, who fail to recognize the connection between chronic pain and chronic complex trauma. Chronic complex traumas survivors may be misdiagnosed with a host of different chronic illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome/ inflammatory bowel disease, chronic headaches (such as migraines), lupus, or multiple sclerosis. Many chronic complex trauma survivors have been told that they don't look sick yet their illness affects them greatly. These diagnoses can cause them to feel further invalidated and even disbelieved by medical professionals when they return for treatment. They often become so frustrated at how they are treated in the doctor's offices that they stop going altogether.