Trust the Signs: Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces 2024

 On September 18th, 2024, we have a Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse at 25° Pisces.

This is a very powerful lunation, and the first Eclipse on the Pisces/Virgo axis.

The Full Moon is conjunct Neptune (at 28° Pisces), and it is sextile Uranus in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn. In fact, the Full Moon Eclipse forms a beautiful configuration called “Kite”.

The propeller of the Kite, the Sun, is in Virgo, reminding us how important it is to ground our dreams and ideals in the real world.

The planets at the apex of the Kite - Moon and Neptune - will heighten our connection to higher consciousness, deepening our intuition and insight.

This Sun in Virgo/Moon-Neptune in Pisces Kite configuration is a unique opportunity to align the spiritual with the practical, the abstract with the tangible.

Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces - Two Quotes

Here are two quotes that beautifully capture the energy of this Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces:

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” 

Napoleon Hill.

This means that anything we can envision with our mind’s eye has the divine potential to eventually manifest.

Sooner or later, whatever idea is generated in the vast cosmic computer that is the Universe has the potential to find its way into 3D, material reality. There’s always a pathway from spirit to matter - and back to spirit. That’s how the universe works.

And the 2nd quote is: 

 

“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe”.

Albert Einstein

This means that once we send our intention to the Universe, it will guide us toward its fulfillment, showing us signs and paths to follow.

However, if we fundamentally believe that the Universe is hostile - thinking, 'the world is against me,' or 'I can’t do this because of that' - we will likely dismiss those signs, as we won’t trust them. After all, the universe is hostile, right?

If, instead, we trust that the Universe is divinely designed to work in our favor, we will recognize the signs and adjust our path accordingly.

We will eventually manifest our desires, knowing that the Universe is on our side.

Full Moon Eclipse In Pisces - The Aspects

The Full Moon Eclipse in Pisces is conjunct its modern ruler, Neptune, the planet of limitless dreams and possibilities. This powerful alignment holds the promise that our visions have the potential to become tangible realities.

However, this same Full Moon in Pisces squares its traditional ruler, Jupiter (now in Gemini). This suggests that in order to reach our highest potential and manifest our dreams (Neptune), we must be willing to adjust some of our beliefs (Jupiter).

Our mindset can be our best friend - OR our greatest enemy.

Our mindset is the sum of our beliefs. We are wired to default on our beliefs. 

“I’ve always been like that” or “If only I achieve this goal, then I will be happy”. 

But the problem with a fixed mindset is that it keeps us stuck in a rigid plan,unable to adapt to life's inevitable twists and turns.

We miss the subtle signs and opportunities along the way, because we're too focused on one outcome and fail to see the bigger picture.

There are 2 fundamental issues with this approach:

1st: Growth is not a linear process, and neither is life. The world is way too complex, and there are simply too many variables at play. It’s much wiser to let go of what we think things should be and surrender to the flow of life.

2nd: Timing. That’s another important dimension that ties into the first. There is divine timing for everything. The defining characteristic of divine timing is its divine nature - we cannot schedule it in our calendar.

Full Moon Eclipse In Pisces - Trust the Divine Timing

The (friendly) universe always offers clues when that divine timing has arrived. You start seeing signs or omens here and there. Things start to fall into place. There are synchronicities, serendipities, and everything flows. One thing leads to another.

The opposite of divine alignment is when things steadily deteriorate. When that happens, it means we’ve misread the divine directions and veered off course.

If you want to go South, but you’re heading North, guess what - you’re not going to get to your destination; in fact, you’ll get farther and farther away from it.

When things keep going wrong, it’s a sign that we’ve become disconnected from the flow of life, unable to perceive the guidance around us.

This is not about losing sight of our highest aspirations (Neptune). It’s about reading the signs, and not going North when the sign says “go South”. It’s about interpreting the clues - taking the feedback - and adjusting our path accordingly.

Most importantly, it’s about trusting in the divine guidance of the universe.

Lunar Eclipse in Pisces - North Node Eclipse

In Astrology, eclipses are traditionally associated with karmic, fated events. However, not all eclipses signify karmic endings.

There are 2 types of eclipses: South Node eclipses (when the luminary is close to the South Node), and North Node Eclipses (when the luminary is close to the North Node).

South Node Eclipses are about releasing outdated patterns, 

while North Node eclipses often bring twists of fate. North Node eclipses introduce new energy and the potential to alter our karmic paths.

This particular Eclipse in Pisces is a North Node Eclipse - meaning it's about welcoming new energy rather than releasing old karma.

The message of this Full Moon North Node Eclipse in Pisces?

Everything is possible when you trust the divine timing and read the signs - even if they go against what you believed to be true.

When the next unexpected thing hits you - will you frame it as a challenge, or as an opportunity? Will you read the sign, or will you fall back into your default pattern of seeing the world? Will you swim with the current, or against it?

The Full Moon Eclipse will hand us a magic opportunity, but only if we trust the mysterious workings of the universe.

At the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Pisces, many planets are connected through supportive aspects like sextiles and trines. We have the full endorsement of the Universe + a cosmic stamp of divine approval with the Full Moon conjunct Neptune.

Full Moon Eclipse In Pisces - How to Approach It

What will be revealed to us will be profound and extraordinary.

But to be able to ‘see’ what the Full Moon and Neptune are here to illuminate, we have to let go of old ways of being.

This is a North Node Eclipse. We have to be OK with not having all the answers.

It’s not that we were wrong. But as we move through life, new and richer layers are gradually revealed. When we trust the divine timing, when we read the signs, we align ourselves with the DNA of the universe and open ourselves to magic and limitless possibilities.

At the Full Moon in Pisces, take a moment to ask yourself:

1. What beliefs or habits might be keeping me from seeing the signs the universe is offering? 
2. How can I open myself up to the possibility that what lies ahead could be greater than I ever imagined?

The Full Moon Eclipse offers a chance for profound transformation, but it requires us to be present, open, and willing to trust the journey.

The universe is always communicating with you. 

All you have to do is listen.

Astro Butterfly

How to Attract Anything You Desire | Nassim Haramein & Lewis Howes

How to Be Happy in Life

 

Is happiness an elusive goal 

that happens in your life 

only once in a while? 

Sadhguru meticulously takes apart 

man’s quest for happiness and 

explains how to be happy in life.

Sadhguru: 

Being happy or unhappy is actually your choice. 

People have chosen to be unhappy because they think that by being unhappy they will get something. It is being taught that if you suffer, you will go to heaven. If you are a suffering human being, what will you do in heaven anyway? Hell will be more of a home for you. Once you are unhappy, whatever you get, what does it matter? If you are happy, even if you do not get anything, what does it matter? This is not a philosophy, this is your true nature. By nature, you want to be happy. This is not a teaching that I am trying to give you – “Be happy; be happy.” Every creature wants to be happy. Everything that you are doing, every single act you are performing is to seek happiness in some way. 

Whatever every human being is doing on this planet, it does not matter what, even if he is giving away his life to someone, he is doing it because it gives him happiness.

For example, 

why would you want to serve people? Serving people gives you happiness; that is why. Someone wants to wear good clothes; someone wants to make a lot of money, because that gives them happiness. Whatever every human being is doing on this planet, it does not matter what, even if he is giving away his life to someone, he is doing it because it gives him happiness. Happiness is the fundamental goal of life. Why do you want to go to heaven? Only because someone has told you that if you go to heaven, you will be happy. 

The Source of Unhappiness 

After doing all that you are doing, if happiness is not happening, somewhere the fundamentals of life have been missed. When you were a child, you were simply happy. Without doing anything, you were happy. Then somewhere along the way, you lost this. Why did you lose it? You got deeply identified with many things around you, your body, your mind. What you call as your mind is actually just the stuff that you have picked up from social situations around you. Depending upon what kind of society you have been exposed to, that is the kind of mind you have acquired. 

The basis of all this misery is that you have established yourself in untruth. You are deeply identified with that which you are not.

Everything in your mind right now is something you picked up from outside. This nonsense did not come with you; you picked it up and got identified with it. You got so identified with it that now it is causing you misery. You can collect any kind of garbage you want, it is okay. As long as you are not identified with it, there is no problem. This body is not yours; you have picked it up from the earth. You were born with a tiny body which your parents gave you. After that, you ate plants and animals and grew. You borrowed it from the earth; it is not yours. You have to use it for a while, so enjoy it and go. But you have become so deeply identified with it that you think that this is you. No wonder you are suffering. The basis of all this misery is that you have established yourself in untruth. You are deeply identified with that which you are not.

Discount What You Are Not

The whole process of spirituality is only to dis-identify with that which you are not. When you do not know what you really are, can you search for it? If you search, only your imagination will run wild. If you start thinking, “Who am I?”, someone will tell you that you are God’s child. Someone else will tell you that you are the devil’s child. Someone might tell you something else. It is just endless beliefs, and imagination runs wild. The only thing that you can do is that whatever you are not, start discounting that. When everything is discounted, there is something which cannot be discounted. When you arrive at that, you will see that there is no reason for misery in this world. 

in, Isha Sadhguru

Visto y no visto

Molly Belle

 

(A los amigos que siguen vivos

          pero han desaparecido, allá donde estén,

          con un abrazo póstumo.)

La gente tiende a desaparecer.

Un día te hacen reír y al siguiente no están.

Un día te llamaban cada día

para saber cómo estabas,

y ahora ya no puedes ni recordar sus voces.

Un día dijeron siempre

y siempre acabó siendo nunca más.

La gente se parece a los fantasmas.

Aparecen, seducen, crees en ellos,

dan miedo, brillan y desaparecen.

Se van y, de repente, ya no existen,

como si nunca hubieran existido.

Llegas a convencerte de que los has soñado.

Yo soy uno de ellos.

Morir, en nuestro caso,

es una redundancia.

Juan Vicente Piqueras

De que é que Depende a Felicidade?

Darwis Alwan

Ser feliz.
De vez em quando, discretamente, pudicamente, ergue-se em ti ainda esta velha aspiração. 

Mas já não são horas de o seres, seriam só de o teres sido.

De que é que depende a felicidade?
O que falhou avulta quando enfrentamos a pergunta. 

Mas só se não tivéssemos falhado saberíamos se foi isso que falhou. 

Sei o que falhou mas não sei se o que falhou foi isso.

A felicidade ou infelicidade têm a sua escala de grandeza.
Tenho os meus motivos grandes mas os pequenos absorvem-nos.
Problemas do destino, da verdade, do absoluto que desse a pacificação interior. Mas eles apagam-se ou esquecem com uma simples dor de dentes. 

Assim eles me avultam apenas quando essa dor se apazigua.

Que dores menores me pontuaram a vida toda?
Do balanço geral há o que somos para os outros e o que somos para nós.

Ser feliz. 

Possivelmente o problema está num dente cariado. Sei o que falhou.
Não sei o que falharia ainda, se o mais não tivesse falhado.

Que falsificação de nós inventamos para os outros que no-la inventaram?
Ter grandeza no que se sofre para ao menos nos admirarem o sofrimento.

O que sofri entremeado ao público sofrimento não tem grandeza nenhuma. 

Precisava bem de saber se a minha verdade definitiva não está aí. 

Ou ao menos a condição de tudo o mais.

Para me negar radicalmente na obscuridade de mim.

Para saber definitivamente o que vou entregar à morte.

Porque pode ser só aquilo de que a morte tomará posse, sem restar nada de que tomem posse os outros.

Vergílio Ferreira
in, Conta-Corrente 4

Pushing The Envelope of Physics: Nassim Haramein

Do sentimento trágico da vida

Rehulian Yevhen 

Não há revolta no homem

que se revolta calçado.

O que nele se revolta

é apenas um bocado

que dentro fica agarrado

à tábua da teoria.

Aquilo que nele mente

e parte em filosofia

é porventura a semente

do fruto que nele nasce

e a sede não lhe alivia.

Revolta é ter-se nascido

sem descobrir o sentido

do que nos há-de matar.

Rebeldia é o que põe

na nossa mão um punhal

para vibrar naquela morte

que nos mata devagar.

E só depois de informado

só depois de esclarecido

rebelde nu e deitado

ironia de saber

o que só então se sabe

e não se pode contar.

Natália Correia

Somos consciência dentro de um corpo

Beach Cathedral, Ribadeo, Lugo, Galicia, Spain

Evoluir implica trabalhar e desenvolver a nossa consciência e a maneira como interagimos com o mundo material através do corpo. A consciência é o denominador comum entre os nossos corpos mental, emocional, físico e espiritual.
É através da nossa consciência que percebemos a realidade, que chegamos a conclusões, que geramos crenças, decidimos prioridades e aprendemos as nossas lições.

Um bom estado de consciência permite-nos viver uma vida de qualidade fazendo boas e conscientes escolhas activando assim o nosso estado de cooperação. O estado de inconsciência, baixa a nossa frequência e leva-nos a activar a nossa violência e estado de competição.

Embora todos os campos interajam o tempo todo, a frequência que eles emanam condiciona a nossa consciência.
Por exemplo, se as emoções do campo emocional são baixas de ressentimento, culpa e revolta, vai afectar o campo mental com pensamentos negativos, pessimistas e julgadores que por sua vez baixa a frequência do espírito que por sua vez causa mazelas e efeitos secundários no corpo. O estado de consciência desta pessoa será muito reduzido, incapaz ainda de aplicar as leis universais à sua realidade, ver-se-á preso a essa mesma realidade até que algo a ponha em causa.

Se por contrário temos alguém responsável pelo seu campo emocional, que o limpa regularmente através da expressão dos seus sentimentos ou mesmo com a ajuda de terapia, que procura manter o seu campo mental positivo e direcionado para informação de qualidade, que cuida do seu corpo com amor e que por isso o seu espírito mantém uma frequência alta de amor, tolerância e humildade, verá portas abrirem-se, oportunidades aparecerem, sincronias revelarem a sua magia.

Ao contrário das condições do mundo que nem sempre são fáceis ou até possíveis de mudar como gostaríamos, podemos sempre trabalhar a nossa consciência. E tal como subir um escadote, não acontecerá por acaso ou por sorte mas sim e apenas por escolha ou vontade própria. Começa no momento em que nós mesmos admitimos que chegámos ao limite, que esgotámos todas as hipóteses de sobrevivência na realidade presente, quando aceitamos que as velhas crenças já não dão resposta positiva às propostas da realidade presente.

Embora a expansão da consciência seja assunto comum em todas as antigas correntes filosóficas e seja uma proposta que nos acompanhe a vida toda, há alturas ou momentos em que o convite a ver o mundo por uma nova lente, é mais forte do que nunca e é importante estarmos atentos. Por exemplo, frustrações, perdas, rejeições, resistências externas de várias naturezas, ou seja, como diz uma célebre frase; "Quando não podes mudar o que está fora, chegou a altura de mudar o que está dentro".

Todo o esforço que nos leve a por em causa a nossa visão do mundo e nos leve a ver a mesma realidade por um prisma mais sábio e mais amoroso, será recompensado.
Seja um livro novo, um filme, uma consulta, um desabafo com alguém ou simplesmente a curiosidade que nos leva a querer saber mais ou encontrar formas de viver mais feliz, tudo vale.



Vera Luz

David Bowie - Absolute Beginners (Official Video)

The hidden danger of waiting too long to choose

Sal Hernndez

What I am writing here is not about to add to the accretion of anxiety that may have been building over the years about “having waited too long to find a partner.” There’s enough of that out there, not the least of which comes from friends and family who panic you into feeling it’s too late . . . or the memory of someone in your life telling you “if you leave it too long, all the good ones will be taken!”

Those are the kinds of sentences that can haunt us for years, long after the person ever remembers having said it: They were right! I left it for too long and now all the good ones really are gone.

No, this isn’t about adding to fear or regret. 

I believe today will actually be a kind of pressure valve for you, because in a sense, it puts you back in the driver’s seat when it comes to your choices. (I should also say that what I write about here can be applied to most things in life you may feel you’ve neglected or postponed for too long, and now it feels too late to make a decision about them.)

 

The real danger of waiting “too long” is not, in my opinion, that we’ll run out of options. 

Yes, there will be plenty already married, or sick, or dead. Certainly, many will come with more complications—kids and ex-marital partners, for example—though I don’t always think this is a bad thing. Complications do not automatically equate to “baggage”; in some cases, they add value. 

Many people become more interesting, mature, responsible, and compassionate by the ways their life has developed. To be sure, others are made bitter, resentful, or shut down by the very same things, but not all.

(As an aside, did you know that watches get more valuable with every “complication”? If a Rolex can tell you the date as well as the time, that’s considered a “complication,” and it makes the watch worth more. Our own personal complications are responsible for all sorts of roles and functions we were never capable of performing in our younger years, which I think make us more valuable too.)

To say one more thing about the notion of running out of options: 

We should remember that if we ourselves—a good catch—are still looking for someone, it stands to reason that we are not some strange outlier, but instead part of a larger pattern: that there are in fact many wonderful people who for myriad reasons find themselves looking for love at the same time and age as us.

 

So what is the real danger I speak of in waiting too long?

Early on in the choosing process, there’s a serious value to being choosy. It protects us from settling for less than we should reasonably expect, keeps us from selling ourselves short, and is an indicator that we have some kind of standard that is guiding us toward a quality relationship. Since there is no shortage of people who are wrong for us, we need a way to filter them out.

However, invariably, along the way, we don’t only say “no” to obviously terrible choices, but to some we deem as only 60-80% of what we are looking for. They are close, but with time on our side, and plenty more to choose from, we continue the search for our 90% person. Many find themselves on less sure footing when the balance tips, and it no longer feels like the future is this ever-receding horizon, but an unforgiving wall of finality that is rushing toward us.

Sometimes this can have the effect of causing us to reevaluate what’s truly important to us, while letting go of the need to win the battle on more superficial frontiers, like how much hair someone has, how successful they are, or how perfect their body is. And yet, what actually happens for a lot of people is something else. 

Every person they’ve ever passed up has only made the stakes higher for the person they eventually settle on.

The more people we’ve said “no” to, the more we feel we have to justify who we eventually say “yes” to. And not just to ourselves, but to everyone who knows how long we’ve been looking for a partner, as though we will one day come home with someone to a chorus of our loved ones saying: 

“Really? This is what you held out for?”

We are no longer looking for a flawed-but-wonderful HUMAN to spend our lives with, but a truly perfect partner who makes sense of everyone we have put behind us. 

What began as the freedom to choose turns into the burden of choosing. 

We must avoid this trap if we are to be happy. 

It’s a kind of inverse to the “sunk cost bias” people feel in long-term unhappy relationships—the feeling that they need to make it work with this person to justify all the time invested in them. 

In the scenario I’m talking about today, we have the “single sunk cost bias”—the more time we’ve invested in looking for the ideal partner, the more we feel we have to acquire a “unicorn” to make it all make sense: I’ve sunk so much time, energy, and effort into finding a perfect partner that the person I choose really does have to be perfect . . . otherwise, what was the point?

This is why we must be wary of the instinct to choose while looking backward. 

It stops us from being present with our actual lives. 

We don’t need the person we choose today to be better than anyone we’ve chosen to reject in the past. It’s not a competition, and if it is, it’s only one we have created in our own head. 

All that matters in reality is that we find someone we’re capable of living happily with today, with all of their flaws, their vulnerabilities, their quirks, no matter how they might deviate from the choices we would have once made at a different time in life.

When we find a person like this, we have to stop seeing it as settling for them. 

We are, in fact, settling on them. 

Settling for someone implies something passive and resigned, like throwing in the towel and accepting less than we wanted. 

Settling on someone implies real agency. The desire to lean in and create what we want with a person whom we are capable of creating it with. 

When deciding where to live, we settle on a house or a plot of land and resolve to make it a home. 

When we settle on a relationship, we are making a conscious decision to end the search and build something beautiful with a real person. That’s not us shortchanging ourselves—it’s getting on with the work of building a tangible life with someone instead of repeatedly playing out a fantasy in our head.

When we realize we aren’t on the search for the perfect partner, but instead, the much more humble mission of finding someone with whom we make a wonderful team, it unburdens us from the decision paralysis that time and past dismissals have infected us with. It takes the impossibly high stakes we’ve been carrying and simply puts them down.

You have nothing to prove to anyone—not even to your former self and their expectations of who you should be with. 

Your only obligation today is to help yourself find the happiness you deserve in this lifetime. 

It’s surprising how many different people we can find it with once we stop the search for perfection and start noticing the wonderful and imperfect humans who will yet cross our path.

Key Takeaways

1. When we’re afraid we’re running out of options, we should remember that if we ourselves—a good catch—are still looking for someone, it stands to reason that we are not some strange outlier, but instead part of a larger pattern: that there are many wonderful people who for myriad reasons now find themselves looking for love at the same time and age as us. 

2. We must avoid falling into the “single sunk cost bias”—believing that the more time we’ve invested in looking for the ideal partner, the more we feel we have to acquire a unicorn to make it all make sense.

3. Settle on someone rather than for someone. When we settle on a relationship, we are making a conscious decision to end the search and build something beautiful with a real person. It allows us to get on with the actual work of building a tangible life with someone instead of repeatedly playing out a fantasy in our head.

What About You?

1. What’s the area of your life where you’re still dealing with a “sunk cost bias”? 
2. Are you searching for a unicorn after spending so much time single? 
3. Do you find yourself looking to “optimize” every relationship? 
4. What’s an area where you could go a little easier on yourself—reminding yourself that you have nothing to prove—and that your only obligation is to your own happiness? 

Matthew Hussey

HELENA

Alexandra PP

 Teu inferno é ontem, é cada instante

em que, sem saber, te perdeste

e cada instante em que te salvaste.

Quando o jovem que foste está já longe,

amar é a vingança do passado.

Vem de uma guerra onde foste vencido,

de acampamentos e armas que um dia abandonaste

na Tróia que tens dentro de ti mesmo.

Hão-de buscar-te de noite os aqueus

e apertar o cerco. Voltarás,

por uma mulher, a perder a cidade.

Helena é estes sonhos

que a vida foi apropriando.

Defende-a outra vez, a última.

E fá-lo com valentia, desarmado.

Joan Margarit

How to Recognize and Treat Complex PTSD

 

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) is a condition similar to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but with additional features that make it more complicated to treat. This includes having problems with self-image, managing your emotions, and trusting others.

The treatment of C-PTSD is more or less the same as PTSD, although the journey tends to take longer. The diagnosis can also be challenging given that C-PTSD shares many of the same symptoms as borderline personality disorder (BPD), requiring an experienced mental health professional to differentiate the two.

This article takes a look at the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of complex post-traumatic stress syndrome and the long-term outlook for this complicated anxiety disorder.

What Is Complex PTSD?

PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder included in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5) issued by the American Psychiatric Association and the "International Classification of Diseases" (ICD-11) issued by the World Health Organization.

PTSD is characterized by a traumatic event such as a sexual assault, warfare, or domestic violence that causes symptoms ranging from "re-living" the trauma to avoiding anything that reminds you of it.

In 2022, the ICD-11 introduced C-PTSD as a distinct entity that shares features with PTSD but has several of its own. Under the ICD-11 definition, C-PTSD is thought to be caused by traumas that were especially severe or prolonged, often where there was no means of escape. Examples include human trafficking and child sexual abuse.1

Because of the extreme nature of the trauma, C-PTSD has three distinct features not included in the definition of PTSD:

PTSD

• Re-experiencing the trauma

• Avoidance of people, places, or thoughts that remind you of the trauma

• Negative thoughts and a feeling of detachment from the world around you

• Hypervigilance and reactivity

C-PTSD

• Re-experiencing the trauma

• Avoidance of people, places, or thoughts that remind you of the trauma

• Negative thoughts and a feeling of detachment from the world around you

• Hypervigilance and reactivity

• Difficulty regulating your emotions

• Relationship problems, including an inability to trust others

• Problems with self-image and a generally negative image of yourself

C-PTSD is currently not included in the DSM-5, though recommendations have been made for the inclusion. Part of the reluctance stems from its similarity to a mental condition known as borderline personality disorder (BPD).

C-PTSD Symptoms

With C-PSTD, the symptoms of PTSD are compounded by several others that affect how you relate to yourself and others.

Key symptoms of PTSD include:

• Experiencing flashbacks, nightmares, and repetitive sensations of the trauma
• Experiencing physical sensations, such as pain, sweating, trembling, or feeling sick
• Taking unhealthy steps to avoid anything that reminds you of the trauma, leading to isolation and emotional numbness
• Always being on edge or easily startled
• Constantly assessing for threats around you
• Sleep and concentration problems

 

With C-PTSD, additional symptoms are involved, including:

• Negative self-image, including feelings of worthlessness, shame, and guilt
• Problems controlling your emotions
• Interpersonal relationship problems, including a general distrust of people

Behaviors Associated with C-PTSD

The emotionally disruptive nature of C-PTSD increases a person's risk of certain unhelpful or harmful behaviors, including:

• Inability to accept criticism: If you have C-PTSD, criticism can cause severe distress because you are already self-critical or feel shame. 
• Substance abuse: Research suggests a strong association between substance use and trauma as a means to help numb the pain.
• Self-harm: Self-harm not only includes intentionally hurting yourself or trying to commit suicide but also being reckless and taking unnecessary risks that put you in harm's way.

Complex PTSD vs. BPD

C-PTSD and BPD differ in several key ways. 

Firstly, BPD is a personality disorder. This a mental health condition characterized by long-term patterns of disruptive thoughts, moods, and behaviors that negatively affect interpersonal relationships. Unlike someone with an anxiety disorder, a person with a personality disorder has no idea that their actions are disruptive or unreasonable.

Even so, placing the symptoms of C-PTSD side by side with BPD illustrates how alike the two conditions are at first sight.

Common symptoms of BPD( Borderline Personality Disorder ):

1. Unstable and chaotic relationships
2. A distorted self-image
3. Impulsive and reckless behaviors
4. Inability to receive or accept criticism
5. Chronic feelings of emptiness
6. An abnormal fear of abandonment
7. Inability to control one's emotions, including explosive outbursts
8. A general distrust of others with moments of paranoia
9. Emotional "splitting" (viewing something as either being all bad or all good)
10. Recurrent suicidal ideation or self-harm

Oftentimes, only an experienced mental health professional can differentiate the two conditions.

Diagnosing Complex PTSD

While there is no formal test to distinguish between PTSD and C-PTSD, there are three domains that the clinician will focus on during the mental evaluation:

1. Emotional dysregulation
2. Negative self-concept
3. Interpersonal difficulties

Questions that may be asked during the evaluation include:

• What happens when you feel stressed, angry, or frustrated?
• How do you think people who know you see you?
• How do you feel about yourself?
• Are there people in your life you trust?
• How do you get along with your spouse? Co-workers? Family?

Causes of Complex PTSD

People with C-PTSD suffer long-term and repetitive trauma. Most survivors were unable to leave their situation and felt trapped or controlled. The risks are greater during childhood and adolescence when brain development is most vulnerable.

Examples of such trauma include:

1. Sexual abuse
2. Domestic violence
3. Sex trafficking
4. Child abuse, neglect, or abandonment
5. Being a child soldier
6. Being a prisoner of war
7. Living through wartime trauma

C-PTSD and the Brain

Researchers from the University of Rochester have found that PTSD can reduce nerve signaling in the prefrontal cortex of the brain which regulates executive functioning. By doing so, a person is less able to maintain self-control, think flexibly, or prioritize tasks and thoughts in a rational order.

By understanding these biological and physiological changes, scientists may one day be able to develop treatments and therapies that more directly target the brain of people with C-PTSD.

Complex PTSD Treatment

C-PTSD is treated similarly to PTSD, though the treatment is usually longer. It may include one or a combination of the following:

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, should be conducted by a trained therapist. It’s best to find one with experience in treating trauma.

Evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD such as cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure (PE) therapy have been shown to benefit individuals with C-PTSD. Skills-based psychotherapies such as dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) may also be of benefit.

The goal is to facilitate the processing of the trauma and to identify and modify the trauma's harmful emotional impact on your life.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR combines psychotherapy with the use of eye movements. Treatment begins with the therapist building trust and teaching eye movement techniques. EMDR helps the trauma survivor process the traumatic memories until they are no longer distressing.

The Department of Veterans Affairs considers EMDR a best-practice treatment for PTSD in military war veterans.

Medications

Healthcare providers often prescribe medications to treat PTSD and C-PTSD. 

These may include antidepressants such as:

• Zoloft (sertraline)
• Paxil (paroxetine)
• Prozac (fluoxetine)
• Effexor (venlafaxine)

Zoloft and Paxil are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of PTSD. Prozac and Celexa are used off-label (meaning for purposes other than those licensed by the FDA).

What Is Integrative Treatment of Complex Trauma?

Integrative treatment of complex trauma (ITCT) is an evidence-based approach used primarily for traumatized adolescents and youth between the ages of 12 and 21. 

It involves a combination of treatment approaches performed individually and in groups, including:

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
2. Prolonged exposure therapy (PET)
3. Mindfulness skills training
4. Emotional regulation therapy (ERT)
5. PTSD trigger management

Recovery from C-PTSD is a long process. It’s important to be easy on yourself and to take time to learn coping mechanisms to aid in your recovery.

These include:

• Finding support: C-PTSD may cause you to shy away from being social. However, it is important to have a strong support system so you can reach out to those you trust. This might include friends, family, support groups, church, or other groups.
• Practicing mindfulness: Mindfulness means being self-aware and intentionally shifting attention to the present.13 Mindfulness techniques don’t have to be elaborate. You can incorporate them into walking, eating, breathing, meditation, music, and hobbies. 
• Journaling: The brain can have a hard time processing difficult events. Journaling provides a place to write down private feelings and reflections. Putting thoughts on paper helps you express and begin to get a distance from painful emotions.

PTSD can be difficult to treat. Given the complexities of C-PTSD, it may be reasonable to assume that the challenges are even greater.

Even so, you are more likely than not to experience improvement in your mental health and quality of life if you seek treatment from a licensed practitioner. Studies suggest that roughly 30% of people eventually recover from PTD, and another 40% get better with the appropriate treatment.

The impact of Complex PTSD may not completely go away, but with treatment, the symptoms can drastically decrease, improving your quality of life and overall well-being. 

Brandi Jones