Individuals with complex PTSD often over-regulate emotions, using emotional numbing, withdrawing, or dissociation to cope with reminders of traumatic experiences. On the other hand, BPD is characterised by under-regulation of intense emotions, resulting in expressions of intense anger or self-harm.
With CPTSD, emotional dysregulation revolves around a person's inability to calm themself down. But with BPD, emotional regulation tends to involve uncontrolled anger and more severe emotional disturbances.
In CPTSD, emotional issues stem from an impaired ability to self-soothe when upset and a tendency toward emotional numbing. In BPD, the problems are linked to uncontrolled anger and a profound inability to regulate one's emotions. In CPTSD, self-perception is hampered by feelings of worthlessness, shame, and guilt.
Unfortunately, because of the overlap in symptoms, and because some differences appear similar from the outside, some people with C-PTSD end up being misdiagnosed with BPD, or vice-versa. Sometimes someone will have both conditions, but only one is picked up.
The key difference between BPD and C-PTSD is that symptoms of BPD stem from an inconsistent self-concept and C-PTSD symptoms are provoked by external triggers. A person with C-PTSD may react to or avoid potential triggers with behaviors similar to those that are symptomatic of BPD.
A variety of events and situations might cause complex post-traumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) in a person. But it mostly comes from childhood trauma. cPTSD is different than BPD in that cPTSD causes difficult emotions connected to the person and their situation.
Individuals with cPTSD tend to have a more stable sense of Self but struggle with consistent feelings of low self-worth, guilt, and shame. Individuals with BPD, on the other hand, have a more unstable sense of Self – they may not know who they are at their core and frequently change their interests and hobbies.
Between 25% and 60% of people with BPD also have PTSD—a rate that is much higher than what is seen in the general population. Both BPD and PTSD are believed to stem from the experience of traumatic events. 1 The thoughts, feelings, and behaviors seen in BPD might be the result of childhood trauma.
However, both the PTSD and cPTSD/DSO symptoms often occur with no BPD symptoms (except possibly BPD's unstable sense of self and emotional emptiness), most often as a sequela of childhood emotional neglect (with or without childhood abuse).
One of the most common misdiagnoses for BPD is bipolar disorder. Both conditions have episodes of mood instability. When you have bipolar disorder, your mood may shift from depression to mania, in which you experience elation, elevated energy levels and a decreased need for sleep.
While very few studies reported the prevalence and correlates of dissociative symptoms among people with CPTSD, there may be a considerable subgroup of people with CPTSD who have clinically significant levels of dissociative symptoms (e.g., 28.6-76.9%).
Some of the symptoms of complex PTSD are very similar to those of borderline personality disorder (BPD), and not all professionals are aware of complex PTSD. As a result, some people are given a diagnosis of BPD or another personality disorder when complex PTSD fits their experiences more closely.
People who trauma dump tend to have intense feelings, express emotion excessively and share indiscriminately. In some instances you could have an underlying problem such as borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression that affects your behavior.
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD, C-PTSD or cPTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop if you experience chronic (long-term) trauma. It involves stress responses, such as: Anxiety. Having flashbacks or nightmares.
Having quiet borderline personality disorder (BPD) — aka “high-functioning” BPD — means that you often direct thoughts and feelings inward rather than outward.
Although its inclusion was reconsidered for DSM-5, complex PTSD was again excluded because there was too little empirical evidence supporting Herman's original proposal that this was a separate diagnosis.
Symptoms of complex PTSD
feelings of worthlessness, shame and guilt. problems controlling your emotions. finding it hard to feel connected with other people. relationship problems, like having trouble keeping friends and partners.
While it's not always easy to pinpoint exactly why some people develop C-PTSD and others don't, it seems clear that repeated traumatic events — like abuse or neglect — can have lasting effects. The brain and body are still developing in childhood and are strongly affected by stressors like neglect or other abuse.
There is no research that suggests CPTSD worsens with age. However, if it goes untreated, CPTSD symptoms may worsen over time.
Other common comorbidities include borderline personality disorder (BPD); depressive or bipolar disorders; anxiety disorders; obsessive compulsive disorders; eating disorders and substance abuse.
The researchers diagnosed around 0.5 percent of the women and men questioned as having complex PTSD, and 1.5 percent were found to have classic PTSD.
Not everyone with complex PTSD experiences symptoms of dissociation. But those who do may feel detached from their surroundings, their actions, their body. They may experience gaps in their memory surrounding the original trauma or even regarding a normal, everyday task.
People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended. They may relive the event through flashbacks or nightmares; they may feel sadness, fear or anger; and they may feel detached or estranged from other people.
There are four defensive responses that develop out of childhood trauma and CPTSD: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn. According to Pete Walker, those who have repetitively experienced childhood trauma learn to survive by over-relying on one or two responses and may find it difficult to relax back into a balanced state.