What is Complex Trauma?

Complex trauma happens when someone goes through many traumatic experiences, often over a long period of time. For example emotional neglect and different types of abuse. It also includes the challenges they face as they learn to cope with or survive these experiences.

Complex trauma usually begins in early childhood, but could also start later in life. The traumatic experiences often happen again and again and are caused by other people. Most of the time, they happen in relationships where a child should feel safe, such as with parents or other caregivers. In some families, these problems continue across generations. Some people are also affected by unfair treatment, discrimination, violence, or oppression in their communities, especially if they belong to a minority group.

Complex trauma can affect many parts of a person's life. It may lead to mental health problems, or people may be given the wrong diagnosis. It can also make it harder to do well at school or work, build healthy relationships, and stay physically healthy.

If you want to learn more about Complex Trauma and recovery from it, I reccomend accessing the free recovery toolkit from Carolyn Spring's website. You can learn about Carolyn and her free resources and sign up here.