I have CPTSD from growing up with undiagnosed autism, ADD, and an abusive father. I would recommend anyone who is on the autism spectrum or has ADHD look up CPTSD. Reading about it was extremely helpful for me and the distinctions between PTSD and CPTSD are large enough so that a person might not realize they have trauma just from reading about PTSD alone.
People with CPTSD have emotional flashbacks, which are different and much sneakier than what people with more specific trauma deal with. There are no indications that you're experiencing a flashback, and they can alter your personality, make you miserable, and destroy your relationships.
It's super hard to pick them apart, as often being a child with ADHD is enough motivation for society to also give them CPTSD. It's like a BOGO sale for disorders.
Please don’t be (I know it’s more complicated than me saying not to… but still).
People can develop PTSD over any number of things, even ones that may seem minor to some. We now have some strong evidence that trauma is epigenetic, and if you parents or grandparents went through something traumatic, it can make you more susceptible to PTSD.
I will give you one example. I had a therapy client who developed severe phobia of moths partially because she had to live in an old trailer infested with them as a kid. There were some other contributing factors, but being forced to coexist with moths and not having control over it gave her PTSD with a phobia.
She was made fun of for this, and was really embarrassed because it seemed like such a minor thing to her. But to her nervous system, it wasn’t.
Question is what would I even have PTSD from? Being in daycare as a kid? I thought I was just anxious forever and I'm pretty sure that's still what it is, but this is interesting nonetheless.
You don't have PTSD, and you are right to question this alarmist diagram that suggests this misdiagnosis is common enough to be worth considering by lay people concerned about ADHD symptoms. A more broad application of 'trauma' /might/ be a better fit for this diagram, but PTSD is a very specific diagnosis (most commonly associated with flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance). Nobody qualified to make either of these diagnoses will mix them up accidentally.
For what it's worth, the person behind the website advertised by this diagram is not licenced to practice psychology in the state they currently call home. They also completed their doctorate in 2021 at the dodgy Christian fundamentalist anti-gay George Fox university
I wouldn't trust this person to look after my dog, let alone give diagnostic advice!
On behalf of humanity thank you for using your response to refocus us all on the need to seek greater context for surface level compelling internet finds.
That said, pet sitting has become just so expensive these days when we need to travel...
For me I think the symptoms caused the anxiety, I knew I was going to fuck up, forget or otherwise under perform, so I was anxious about the semi-inevitable outcome.
I think it's really fucked up to present ADD as being related to some innate physiological wiring, as though both holistic treatments and exacerbating circumstances both don't exist.
There is extensive evidence that ADHD is genetic and neurodevelopmental. Of course there will always be environmental factors contributing to how it develops in any given individual.
I think both you and ickplant's reaponse to your comment are correct - it has got a genetic element but even a kid "born with an ADD brain" should be able to "recover" from that pr avoid problems with it in the right environment and with the right events. A lot of us probably only had enough problems with ADD when we were teens or adults, right? Hearing Dr K (healthygamersGG) talk about it in this light is one of the things that helped me understand it properly - he says people can pass the criteria for ADD one year and then "recover from it" later as their brain is growing.
That said I did see a cool video from a psych who seemed to be presenting the opposite idea, yesterday:
So I came away with the same reaction as you, but his examples gave me food for thought. Especially relevant is the fact he said his kids were completely restless
20 replies
I have CPTSD from growing up with undiagnosed autism, ADD, and an abusive father. I would recommend anyone who is on the autism spectrum or has ADHD look up CPTSD. Reading about it was extremely helpful for me and the distinctions between PTSD and CPTSD are large enough so that a person might not realize they have trauma just from reading about PTSD alone.
People with CPTSD have emotional flashbacks, which are different and much sneakier than what people with more specific trauma deal with. There are no indications that you're experiencing a flashback, and they can alter your personality, make you miserable, and destroy your relationships.
This is great advice!
I recommend listening to this podcast episode, the guest does a very good job explaining CPTSD. It has two parts:
Part 1: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/childhood-trauma-signs-of-cptsd-are-you-misdiagnosed/id1834514167
Part 2: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/complex-ptsd-symptoms-why-you-feel-stuck-in-relationships/id1834514167
The podcast is called RECOVERable, and it’s the episodes from August 6th and 13th.
I'll piggy back this excellent advice with a recommendation for "Complex PTSD" By Pete Walker.
It was genuinely eye opening for me, and I've had so many revaluations since.
It's super hard to pick them apart, as often being a child with ADHD is enough motivation for society to also give them CPTSD. It's like a BOGO sale for disorders.
I probably have both. I just feel so embarrassed saying I have PTSD for the reasons I do
Please don’t be (I know it’s more complicated than me saying not to… but still).
People can develop PTSD over any number of things, even ones that may seem minor to some. We now have some strong evidence that trauma is epigenetic, and if you parents or grandparents went through something traumatic, it can make you more susceptible to PTSD.
I will give you one example. I had a therapy client who developed severe phobia of moths partially because she had to live in an old trailer infested with them as a kid. There were some other contributing factors, but being forced to coexist with moths and not having control over it gave her PTSD with a phobia.
She was made fun of for this, and was really embarrassed because it seemed like such a minor thing to her. But to her nervous system, it wasn’t.
Question is what would I even have PTSD from? Being in daycare as a kid? I thought I was just anxious forever and I'm pretty sure that's still what it is, but this is interesting nonetheless.
You don't have PTSD, and you are right to question this alarmist diagram that suggests this misdiagnosis is common enough to be worth considering by lay people concerned about ADHD symptoms. A more broad application of 'trauma' /might/ be a better fit for this diagram, but PTSD is a very specific diagnosis (most commonly associated with flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance). Nobody qualified to make either of these diagnoses will mix them up accidentally.
For what it's worth, the person behind the website advertised by this diagram is not licenced to practice psychology in the state they currently call home. They also completed their doctorate in 2021 at the dodgy Christian fundamentalist anti-gay George Fox university
I wouldn't trust this person to look after my dog, let alone give diagnostic advice!
On behalf of humanity thank you for using your response to refocus us all on the need to seek greater context for surface level compelling internet finds.
That said, pet sitting has become just so expensive these days when we need to travel...
I don't think I really suffer from any of those 3. Any flashbacks are of my own doing. That's somewhat of a relief. Thanks for the input.
For me I think the symptoms caused the anxiety, I knew I was going to fuck up, forget or otherwise under perform, so I was anxious about the semi-inevitable outcome.
That does sound very familiar actually. Thanks for your insight.
I am this gif.
So, what is the name for the thing where you experience all of that, all at once, all the time?
If you also struggle maintaining relationships and trusting people… then Complex PTSD with ADHD.
My condolences, it’s a shitty way to exist. I hope you can find something that helps.
Here is the full article: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/adhd-vs-or-and-ptsd/
I think it's really fucked up to present ADD as being related to some innate physiological wiring, as though both holistic treatments and exacerbating circumstances both don't exist.
There is extensive evidence that ADHD is genetic and neurodevelopmental. Of course there will always be environmental factors contributing to how it develops in any given individual.
I think both you and ickplant's reaponse to your comment are correct - it has got a genetic element but even a kid "born with an ADD brain" should be able to "recover" from that pr avoid problems with it in the right environment and with the right events. A lot of us probably only had enough problems with ADD when we were teens or adults, right? Hearing Dr K (healthygamersGG) talk about it in this light is one of the things that helped me understand it properly - he says people can pass the criteria for ADD one year and then "recover from it" later as their brain is growing.
That said I did see a cool video from a psych who seemed to be presenting the opposite idea, yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWnJ4wjVu9k
So I came away with the same reaction as you, but his examples gave me food for thought. Especially relevant is the fact he said his kids were completely restless