Is It Possible to Fully Recover From Complex PTSD?

In part one of this two-part essay on C-PTSD recovery, I established that the healing journey from C-PTSD is more like an arduous long-haul trek through Mordor than an easy stroll. Because of this, people often wonder whether it is even possible to fully recover from C-PTSD. In other words, does the long "hike" even end?

The answer to that question is highly subjective. Recovering from C-PTSD takes time. Even with extensive treatment over time, some individuals may continue to face lifelong challenges due to the complex nature of the diagnosis, necessitating ongoing symptom management. Conversely, for others on C-PTSD healing journeys, studies indicate that long-term trauma-focused therapies can significantly reduce symptoms.

So, if you're someone with C-PTSD, is it possible to ever fully recover? Whether this will be the case for you, I can't answer. No one can ethically answer that for you without intimate knowledge of you clinically. It’s highly subjective what "done" and "the end" will look like for you.

Some of us may feel like the "proverbial hike" is accomplished when we're able to live functional, responsible, full adult lives without the symptoms ruling us (but still living with occasional triggers from time to time). Still others may feel like the journey has "ended" when a decade of memories are reclaimed and there's an ability to get out of bed each day despite the lack of leading as full a life as we would like.

What and how we define "fully recovered" will be different for all of us; it depends on how you define recovery for yourself, what's possible within the scope of your symptoms, and what work you do to alleviate them.

How Can Someone Start to Heal from C-PTSD?

Professionally, I've found that the complexity of the disorder naturally leads to a need for a comprehensive treatment approach, and as a trauma therapist, I hinge my work with clients on the three-phase framework of traumatology (pioneered by psychologist Pierre Janet) followed by an integrative treatment plan.

In other words, the work happens in stages, and it happens with a wide range of tools. The three stages of C-PTSD recovery according to the three-phase framework of traumatology are:

• Stabilization: At the outset, in my clinical work, the therapeutic focus is on establishing safety and coping mechanisms. Clients learn to ground themselves in the present, utilizing grounding techniques such as mindfulness practices and sensory exercises.
• Processing trauma memories: This stage entails confronting and integrating the fragmented aspects of the self that trauma has shattered. Therapeutic modalities, such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) are employed to process these memories.
• Rehabilitation and integration: The final phase concentrates on rebuilding one's life holistically. It involves not only addressing the psychological wounds but also developing healthy relationships, establishing vocational or educational goals, and solidifying the sense of self that has emerged from the crucible of trauma.

Across these phases (which are not always fully linear), trauma therapists will often rely on an integrative treatment plan that includes:

• Psychotherapy: Considered the foundation of trauma intervention, psychotherapy crucially assists in customizing evidence-supported therapeutic strategies to address the unique needs and experiences of each individual.
• Medication: Though not always the central mode of intervention, medication is often dovetailed with psychotherapy to manage symptoms like anxiety and insomnia that might hinder therapeutic progress.
• Lifestyle adjustments: Adopting healthy lifestyle practices such as regular exercise, nutritional balance, reducing stress, making necessary structural life changes, and nurturing meaningful social ties.

How Do I Know If I'm Making Progress in C-PTSD Recovery?

Think of progress signs in C-PTSD recovery as being like those paint blotches on trees or those stone piles that tell you that you're still on the path, that you're not going in circles, and that, indeed, you've made progress. Some of those varied progress signs might include:

Emotional and Mental Transformations

• Development of coping strategies and resilience: Individuals can cultivate tools to effectively navigate the complexities of their inner world and the intensity of their feelings.
• Reduction in symptom severity: As individuals progress, the intensity and frequency of emotional struggles and unhelpful behaviors decrease both in frequency and intensity.
• Self-esteem restoration: Through therapy, individuals with C-PTSD often regain a sense of self-worth that trauma had taken from them.

Physical and Behavioral Changes

• Improvement in physical health: Many trauma survivors face ongoing health challenges due to the complex physical effects of trauma.
• Modification of behavioral patterns: Avoidance behaviors like isolation, self-sabotage, and substance abuse might diminish during recovery.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Essential Reads

Taming the Amygdala in PTSD

What Happens In the Brain During PTSD?

And that's just a handful of progress markers.

Whatever and however your own biopsychosocial progress markers will look like, it's important that you and your trauma therapist take the time to define what progress markers will look like for you on your proverbial hike so that you can both feel less overwhelmed by the seemingly unending nature of the recovery journey and also see concrete evidence of your progress.

How Long Does It Take to Recover from C-PTSD?

Hopefully, after reading this essay, you realize how complex and completely subjective the answer to this question is.

And I hope, too, that you see the agency and self-determination you have to work with your therapist to define what "the end of the hike" will look like for you and what progress markers you need and want to see on the way to ensure that you're making progress.

To find a therapist near you, consult the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.