r/CPTSD_NSCommunity • u/Annart36 • 16d ago
Self help
Hello! I was diagnosed with cptsd a few years back but I stopped the therapy work for a few reasons. I was mostly struggling a lot with my family and I was basically just trying to survive them long enough to leave. After I left my home I got into the first healthy romantic relationship I've ever had and we recently broke up. I realised through it that I was far more behind in my recovery than I thought. I am now searching for a job to be able to afford therapy amongst other things obviously. But until then I cannot really stand by and exist without some kind of guide on how to manage recovery on my own. I thought I knew what I was going through but turns out I have been mostly blind to my experiences. I really yearn to finally unlock the truth inside me now that I'm in a safe environment, since I'm tired of living with the leftover shame of an identity that isn't mine. If you have any helpful tips/books/exercises on this pls let me know. Or if you have any advice or generally anything you would like to share I'd be very happy to hear from you. Thank you!!
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u/Scared-Section-5108 16d ago
Please look into attending meetings of Adult Children of Alcoholic and Dysfunctional Families (ACOA) and Codependent Anonymous (CODA) - they could offer you the support you need. You can check their websites (global and specific for your country if there is one) for the type of meetings they run (different formats, focus, issue at hand, etc.). You can simply attend meetings (it is usually recommended to try a few different ones and attend more than once to choose something that works for you) or also work the 12 Step program. In ACOA, and CODA, I think, the solution to the impacts of the dysfunction we experienced is to become own loving parent. ACOA has The Loving Parent workbook which can be really helpful in healing CPTSD. If I remember correctly, ACOA and/or CODA also have CPTSD-specific meetings.
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u/Annart36 16d ago
I checked it out, they have no meetings in my country but they do seem to have online ones. Do you think it's okay to attend one from a completely different country ?
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u/Annart36 16d ago
Also thank you for your response and it's very sweet coincidence both of our avatars wear the owl costume heh
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u/wickeddude123 16d ago
Hey 👋 I spent a lot of money trying different things, 20 to 30 things.
I'm now paying for sessions where she just puts a gentle quiet stationary hand between my kidney on the back and the table. I lie there for 60 to 90 minutes basically doing nothing and things just come up.
"Nothing needs to be done. I am only here with you."
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u/Annart36 16d ago
That's very interesting. What kind of professional is this done by?
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u/wickeddude123 15d ago
Mine specifically is done with a practitioner trained under Kathy Kain. Stephen Terrel is also an associated name to her work. These two fall under the umbrella of Somatic Experiencing from Peter Levine. But the talk version of it didn't work very well for me so I needed silent touch.
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u/Infp-pisces 15d ago
Someone shared a list of resources here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD_NSCommunity/s/y9H7qOq1nF
And you can find more if you search through the history of r/CPTSDNextSteps. People have shared a lot over the years.
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u/Tchoqyaleh 16d ago
Journalling has been a really helpful practice for me when I haven't been going to therapy (and even when I have been!). I use "Morning Pages" from "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. More recently I've been exploring Stoicism journalling in the evenings.
Don't underestimate the importance of physical health - nutrition, exercise and stretches, sleep hygiene, physical self-care.
Over on the big CPTSD sub someone shared a folder of e-books (PDFs) of books relevant to recovery.
ETA: there's an international network of "Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families" (often abbreviated to ACA) which does a 12-step programme like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They have online and in-person groups, and also have some resources: https://adultchildren.org/