Complex PTSD is a mental condition where a person experiences the symptoms of PTSD along with other additional symptoms. Difficulty in managing the emotions, not being able to trust others and feeling uncontrollable anger at times are some of the symptoms of C-PTSD. However, with certain changes, we can start to control our emotions, address the negative thought patterns and understand how C-PTSD is controlling our responses, reactions and actions. Self-care in C-PTSD can be hard. However, with self-care routine we can successfully control our emotions. Therapist Linda Meredith shared a few tips on the self-care essentials we need in C-PTSD.
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Consistency: We need to make self-care routine a consistent thing in our daily lives. Be it pampering ourselves or having a quiet time during the day to gather our thoughts or meditating, we should be able to do it regularly.
Boundaries: We need to set healthy boundaries to ensure that our physical, mental and emotional health is protected and in shape. We should be able to explain the relevance of boundaries to others as well.
Self-compassion: We should restrict ourselves from being harsh self-critics. We should be empathetic; we should watch the way we talk to ourselves and learn to be more understanding and compassionate.
Support system: We should find our community of supportive people, safe people and people who can lift us up when we feel low. The support system can help us to make things easier and know that we are safe with the ones around us.
Mindfulness: Deep breathing techniques, yoga, meditation and other mindfulness techniques can help us to stay grounded and become more self-aware.
Self-awareness: Knowing ourselves better, delving deeply to understand the origin of difficult emotions and addressing tough feelings can help us to become more self-aware and handle our responses in a healthy manner.
