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🛡️ Trauma & Resilience
Could you have Complex PTSD?
ICD-11 aligned screening for CPTSD.
Rate how often each applies in the past month: 1 (never) to 5 (almost always).
1I have upsetting dreams or flashbacks related to past events.
2I avoid people, places, or situations that remind me of traumatic events.
3I feel constantly on edge, hypervigilant, or easily startled.
4I have intense emotional reactions that seem disproportionate to the situation.
5I feel worthless, defective, or deeply ashamed of who I am.
6I have difficulty maintaining close relationships or trusting others.
7I feel emotionally numb or disconnected from my body.
8I believe the trauma was my fault or that I deserved it.
9I feel fundamentally different from other people — like I don't belong.
10Small triggers can send me into emotional flashbacks (sudden feelings of fear, shame, or helplessness with no clear cause).
Complex PTSD: recognized by WHO since 2018
CPTSD was added to the ICD-11 (WHO 2018) as distinct from PTSD. It requires PTSD symptoms PLUS disturbances in self-organization (DSO): affect regulation, negative self-concept, and disturbed relationships.
PTSD vs CPTSD
- PTSD (items 1-3): Re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal — from a single event
- DSO (items 4-10): Emotional dysregulation, negative self-concept, relationship difficulties — from chronic trauma
- CPTSD typically results from prolonged, repeated trauma — especially in childhood
Key facts
- Prevalence estimates: 1-8% of general population, higher in trauma-exposed groups
- CPTSD is NOT the same as Borderline Personality Disorder — though they overlap
- Emotional flashbacks (item 10) are Walker's key concept — sudden regression to childhood emotional states
- Treatment: Phase-based therapy (stabilization → trauma processing → integration)
Note: This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. If you score high, please consult a trauma-informed therapist. Help is available: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call/text 988).
Sources: WHO ICD-11 (2018), Cloitre et al. (2013, ITQ), Walker (2013, emotional flashbacks), Herman (1992, Trauma and Recovery).