CPTSD

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A place to talk about CPTSD.

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Are alexithymia and emotional neglect common in CPTSD (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 year ago by SolarBoy@slrpnk.net to c/cptsd@lemmy.ml

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Hi all

I've recently learned more about these concepts: Alexithymia being emotional blindness, and emotional neglect resulting from how I grew up in my childhood.

I often (every week) find myself completely exhausted, painful, and often vomiting every morning. This seems to happen more frequently and intensely when I'm going to work/training.

I'm trying to find a way to be aware of any emotions I might feel and try to place them before getting overwhelmed. But often it still results in a shutdown basically.

Anyone have tips on how to deal with this?

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[–] SolarBoy@slrpnk.net 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, it does makes sense to me.

I find it difficult to explain to my therapist though. Often I can't find the words to explain it to them (But maybe the issue is that i'm trying to find words for it) It seems that all of the therapists I've been to also focus on analysing and behavior, so maybe that's why I never felt much improvement.

I often experience moments of vomiting, tension and backpain, especially during periods of mild stress. But all doctors I went to say that i'm perfectly healthy.

[–] residentoflaniakea@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 11 months ago

How invalidating that must feel when your genuin suffering does not really register with the doctors. When such a bout of discomfort or pain appears notice your response to it. This gets quite meta, but that's alright. How do you feel about how you feel about it? You might get anxious or frustrated or angry? Try not to distract yourself and focus on your self responding to it and let it sit for a bit, and once the storm has passed try to perceive how you feel then. This takes practice and it might feel overwhelming at first. Again, better to do this with a therapist. A few words of warning. Imagine you build up a dam to hold back a river. It feels safe to not subject yourself to the incessive force but cracks are forming. Now, you are being told to break down this dam and that the stream is natural and everone else relishes its flow. Take it on your own pace as to not drown as you find a way to let the water free. In the worst case you might experience a panic attack. This is not to scare you, but to foster awareness. I hope this metaphor appeals to you.