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Bipolar Disorder essay

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Student Name
Professor Monk
English 101
2 November 2020
CPTSD in Childhood: How Complex Trauma Impacts Interpersonal Relations in Adulthood
During crucial developmental stages, children learn how to form attachment styles or
bonds from their caregivers. These intimate caregiver relationships provide an essential role for
emotional, social, and behavioral development that will later influence interpersonal
relationships in adulthood. In the article “Your Attachment Style Impacts Your Relationship,”
psychologist Lisa Firestone explains that we form one of three attachment styles in childhood;
secure, avoidant, or anxious (Firestone). The attachment styles we adopt are primarily related to
the relationship we have with our caregivers, the behaviors they model to us, and the level of
security present in our caregiver’s environments. Empirical research shows that survivors
with CPTSD have a higher probability of forming insecure attachment styles in childhood,
which leads to increased challenges with emotional regulation, trust issues, and aggressive
outbursts in interpersonal relationships in adulthood.
Before we can fully comprehend the impacts CPTSD has on interpersonal relationships in
adulthood; it is beneficial to understand its origins. According to Marc-Antoine Crocq, The
American Psychiatric Association (APA) published their first article about Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) in the 1980s (Crocq). He elaborates that after learning about the challenges that
combat war soldiers were facing when adjusting to life after the Vietnam War, the APA intended
to help educate about the lasting impacts and drastic behavioral changes that occur when exposed
to traumatic events and create effective treatments (Crocq). Since the 1980s, there has been more
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research regarding the classifications of trauma, and we have learned that PTSD is not only
subjective to combat war soldiers.
An article published by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that the
likelihood of experiencing at least one traumatic event in childhood ranges from 13% to 43%.
Furthermore, 3% to 15% of girls develop PTSD, and 1% to 6% of boys are expected to develop
PTSD in adolescents due to trauma exposure (“How Common is PTSD”). While we can see how
children develop PTSD from one traumatic event, imagine the impact it would have on a child
exposed to repetitive traumas like physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and mental abuse during
critical development stages. In research conducted by David Larson, we learn how exposure to
cumulative traumas, or complex trauma, in childhood, is what we now know as Complex Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) (Lawson 331). CPTSD results in lasting effects on cognitive
functions, development, emotional regulation issues, mistrust in others, problems distinguishing
internal and external worlds, and relationship attachments challenges in adulthood (Lawson 331).
As a result of CPTSD, survivors are more likely to develop one of two insecure
attachment styles, avoidant or anxious attachments. Natacha Godbout’s research and article on
“The Role of Romantic Attachments” highlights important critical factors regarding how
avoidant and anxious attachment styles contribute to emotional regulation challenges and an
increased probability of violence implementation in adult romantic relationships (Godbout 128).
Godbout informs us that an avoidant attachment style is a coping strategy to manage childhood
experiences of rejection of their emotional vulnerability. This rejection leads to an inability to
trust others, resulting in self-reliant tendencies that create the ideology that one’s romantic
partner will not be emotionally available for them or if they are, they will be rejected (Godbout
128). It is typical for avoidance over intimacy attachment style to withhold information from
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their partners or use acts of aggression to cope with their intolerance to closeness and regain
power in their relationship (Godbout 128). In comparison, Godbout states that individuals with
an anxious attachment style are more likely to use violence to regain control in their romantic
partnerships due to anticipated or real feelings of abandonment that stem from abandonment
wounds in childhood (Godbout 129).
As we can see, survivors with unaddressed CPTSD have a higher probability of
developing complications with their ability to effectively self-regulate and, as a result,
experience increased chances of dissatisfaction in their romantic relationships. While there may
be significant and lasting effects of CPTSD, it is essential to note that survivors of CPTSD can
make notable strides in managing their symptoms through consistent therapy methods. A study
conducted by David Lawson, who used person-centered therapy, discovered that his patient, a
25-year-old woman with CTPSD, understood the root causes of the repetitive challenges she
experienced in her interpersonal relationships was due to her CPTSD (Lawson 333). In addition
to using talk-therapy, the patient in this case study also found Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
(CBT) as an effective treatment method that provided her with practical tools in learning how to
self-regulate (Lawson 334).
A research article conducted by E. Jane Dalton stated that Emotionally Focused Therapy
(EFT) showed positive and significant results in improving trust in partnerships where one
partner had CPTSD (Dalton 209). While more research is needed to explore the exact reasoning
as to why this is, it is hypothesized that with the EFT method, couples learned how to
constructively navigate their trauma(s) and understand the impacts that their insecure attachment
styles created. With consistent EFT, these couples reported that the level of safety they felt in
their relationship directly correlated to the level of trust and vulnerability they felt with their
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partner. Overall, this study showed that consistent EFT couples improved their overall
relationship satisfaction versus couples who did not participate in EFT (Dalton 209).
As someone with CPTSD matures into adulthood, it can be easy to dismiss their
behaviors as common relationship dysfunctions. However, those with CPTSD are more likely to
create or experience dissatisfaction in their relationship due to the deep insecurities they are
subconsciously acting from to remain safe and in control. With this knowledge, it is pertinent to
understand that while every person, with or without trauma, will encounter conflicts within their
romantic partnerships, those with CPTSD are more likely to create or experience heightened
challenges to cope with their past traumas. If we can choose to see survivors of CPTSD beyond
their complexities, we can see the person underneath it all. We can see their inner child who only
ever wanted to be loved, nurtured, and seen, and this is where the ingredients for their healing
with self and within their interpersonal relationship resides.
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Works Cited
Crocq M.A., Crocq L. “From Shell Shock and War Neurosis to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A
History of Psychotraumatology.” Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2000;2(1):47–55.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181586/#:~:text=The%20term%20postt
raumatic%20stress%20disorder,is%20associated%20with%20the%20legacy. Accessed
30 October 2020.
Dalton, E.Jane, et al. “Nurturing Connections in the Aftermath of Childhood Trauma: A
Randomized Controlled Trial of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy for Female
Survivors of Childhood Abuse.” Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice,
vol. 2, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 209–221. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/a0032772. Accessed 12
Oct 2020.
Firestone, Lisa. “How Your Attachment Style Impacts Your Relationship.” Psychology Today.
30
July 2020. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/compassion-matters/201307/
how-your-attach ment-style-impacts-your-relationship. Accessed 30 October 2020.
Godbout, Natacha, et al. “Early Exposure to Violence, Relationship Violence, and Relationship
Satisfaction in Adolescents and Emerging Adults: The Role of Romantic Attachment.”
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol. 9, no. 2, Mar. 2017,
pp. 127–137. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/tra0000136. Accessed 12 Oct 2020.
“How Common is PTSD in Children and Teens?” U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_children_teens.asp#:~:text=Studi
es%20show%20that%20about%2015,certain%20types%20of%20trauma%20survivors.
Accessed 30 October 2020.
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Lawson, David M., et al. “Treating Complex Trauma: Critical Interventions with Adults Who
Experienced Ongoing Trauma in Childhood.” Psychotherapy, vol. 50, no. 3, Sept. 2013,
pp. 331–335. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/a0032677 Accessed 13 Oct 2020.

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